History and Culture The meat of Yellow River carp is pure, tender and plump, and many people like to eat it. "The Book of Songs" states: If you don't eat the fish, you will eat the carp in the river. It shows that as early as more than 3,000 years ago, Yellow River carp has become a popular food. Shanxi is close to the Yellow River and has unique conditions for eating carp. Shanxi is also known as a vinegar town and is rich in various famous vinegars. This has produced the delicious local flavor of sweet and sour carp, which is known as a famous dish of the Three Jin Dynasties. Historical Origin The production of sweet and sour fish has a long history in Kaifeng. According to "Tokyo Menghua Lu", carp baked noodles had become popular during the Northern Song Dynasty. It uses carp, especially Yellow River carp, as the top quality raw material. After preliminary processing, use a sloped knife to cut both sides of the fish into ridge patterns, and then deep-fry it in a hot oil pan. Then add an appropriate amount of sugar, balsamic vinegar, minced ginger, cooking wine, salt and other seasonings, mix it with boiling water, add the running water gravy, bake the sauce with hot oil until the oil and sweet and sour sauce are completely combined, add the fried fish, and pour the gravy on it Serve. It is jujube red in color, soft, tender and fragrant, sweet yet sour, sour yet slightly salty. In 1900, Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty and Empress Dowager Cixi stopped in Kaifeng to escape the Eight-Power Allied Forces. The Kaifeng government office summoned a famous chef to prepare a meal and served "sweet and sour fish". Guangxu and Empress Dowager Cixi praised it repeatedly after eating it. "Baked Noodles" are also called "Dragon Beard Noodles". According to "Ru Meng Lu": In the Ming Dynasty, every second day of the second lunar month in Kaifeng, the so-called "dragon raises its head" day, was considered auspicious, and the government and the people would give each other thin noodles, which were called "dragon beard noodles". At first, the noodles were boiled in water, but later, they were continuously improved and fried to make them fluffy and crispy. After absorbing the juice, they were eaten with other dishes, so they were called "baked noodles". Around 1930, a famous chef in Kaifeng first put fried "dragon whiskers noodles" on the cooked "sweet and sour braised fish" and created "sweet and sour braised fish with baked noodles", which was deeply welcomed by customers. Combining the two into one, you can eat fish and dip noodles in sauce, so it has a unique flavor. Since then, the dish has gradually spread. Later, ramen noodles were introduced to Kaifeng, and people used ramen noodles that were not messy and as thin as hair, deep-fried and paired with fried fish to make it the icing on the cake. "Sweet and sour braised fish" is a dish with two tastes. It has the reputation of "eating dragon meat first, then eating dragon beards", making it an indispensable delicacy at the banquet. During the reform and opening up, as foreign exchanges continued to increase, carp baked noodles were appreciated by more and more guests coming to Bian.