The stink of Mandarin fish is actually due to the odor of the fish after it has been cured in a special way. The fish will smell bad after being cleaned and left to dry at 25 degrees Celsius for 6 or 7 days. However, this is not really a bad smell, but the unique flavor of the fish after it has been cured, and it is by no means a bad smell produced by the deterioration of Mandarin fish or its deterioration.

This comes from the rich protein of the fish, in the hot and humid temperature part of the protein decomposition, into cheong protein and a small amount of amino acids, at this time will produce mucus and a faint odor, but because of a small amount of amino acids, so will make the fish meat has a significant increase in the fresh taste. By the same token, the same situation occurs in soy sauce tofu and stinky tofu.

Allusion to Stinky Mandarin Fish

Legend has it that more than 200 years ago, fishmongers along the river in Guiqi, Tongling, and Datong shipped Mandarin fish from the Yangtze River in barrels to the mountainous area of Huizhou for sale at the beginning of winter every year, as they had to travel for seven or eight days before arriving in the area.

In order to prevent the deterioration of fresh fish, fishmongers loaded barrels when a layer of fish sprinkled layer of salt water, and often up and down: fish to Huizhou, the gills are still red, scales do not come off, the quality remains unchanged, only the skin emits a strange odor. After washing and frying in hot oil, fine fire cooking, odor all away, fresh and fragrant, and become a popular delicacy.