Grass carp is usually used as the main vinegar fish in West Lake. Grass carp is pomfret, so some recipes are written directly as pomfret. Grass carp is delicious and nutritious, rich in unsaturated fatty acids and selenium, as well as vitamins and pantothenic acid.

The taste of vinegar fish in West Lake is characterized by tender and beautiful fish, crab flavor, fresh and sweet taste and unique meat quality. West Lake vinegar fish needs the real kung fu of the old chef and pays attention to killing them alive. There are seven and a half knives for changing knives, and the grass carp has a thick head. According to these seven and a half knives, cooked fish can be cooked quickly in boiling water. The ventral fins of cooked fish are inclined and feel like flying.

Grass carp can easily smell fishy smell. Therefore, if you want to eat vinegar fish from the West Lake, you must show your talents. It is best to enclose a special water area in the West Lake as your own fish pond to raise grass carp starved to death. The so-called "starvation" means that the West Lake grass carp, which is a vinegar fish, is sealed in the water, and the fish food is not fed for a day or two, so that it can discharge the impurities in the intestine and remove the earthy smell, which will also make the fish firm.