Rotten salmon is also called stinky mandarin fish. It is a traditional famous dish of the Han nationality in Huizhou, Anhui Province, and one of the representatives of Huizhou cuisine, which is popular in six counties of Huizhou. People who meet for the first time are afraid to eat chopsticks, because the smell of mandarin fish is a little worrying. Actually, you don't have to worry at all. It is by no means that this dish has a bad smell. This is the unique flavor of this dish. When you take a bite, you will be surprised to find that it tastes so delicious. This is a famous dish in Huizhou-rotten salmon.

In the early years, Huizhou merchants traveled far and wide, feeding on fishing. After a long time, the stored mandarin fish is easy to smell, so they rub it with salt and toss it repeatedly. Thousands of miles away, the fish still doesn't change color, but it's in good shape, rich in flavor, fried, and especially fragrant (it should be said that it stinks). Later generations carried forward the wisdom of workers, refined the pickling method of smelly fish and formed a routine. First, the mandarin fish is soaked in fine salt for six days, and the proportion should be just right, otherwise the taste will be biased. After the well-made osmanthus fish comes out of the tank, the gills are still red, the scales are not peeling off, and the quality has not changed, but the skin emits a special smell that seems smelly but not smelly. However, after washing, it is slightly fried in hot oil and cooked with low fire, which is not only tasteless, but also extremely delicious. This dish has become a model of Anhui cuisine. It is said that if you don't eat osmanthus fish, you won't eat Anhui cuisine.