West Lake vinegar fish is generally grass carp. Grass carp, one of the "four big fish", belongs to fish. Its snout is slightly blunt, its dorsal fin has no hard spines, its outer edge is straight, its meat is tender and firm, and its spines are few, so it is suitable for many cooking methods. Grass carp in West Lake vinegar fish should not be fed for two days before production, so that grass carp can remove impurities and earthy smell.

West Lake vinegar fish, also known as uncle and sister-in-law Chuan Zhen and Song Saoyu, is a traditional dish in Hangzhou, Zhejiang. West Lake vinegar fish has bright red color, delicious meat, sweet and sour taste, and very delicate ingredients. It uses about a catty and a half of grass carp, and the cooking time is extremely strict, and it can only be cooked for three or four minutes.

West Lake vinegar fish originated in Hangzhou. Song Wusao, a famous female chef in Southern Song Dynasty. Once, I took a boat trip to the West Lake and ate the fish soup made by Mrs. Wu in the Song Dynasty. I was full of praise and called it the "ancestor" of fish. Later, a poet ate this dish and wrote a poem about fish soup on the wall of the restaurant. From then on, Song Sao Zi Tang became famous all over the world.

Liang Shiqiu, a scholar in the Republic of China, also recorded the cooking method of vinegar fish in West Lake. Choose grass carp weighing less than half a catty, cook it, thicken it and adjust the juice, and you can eat it. Now hotels in Hangzhou have the dish of West Lake vinegar fish, but it is not common in residents' homes.