Squirrel mandarin fish is a representative masterpiece of Su cuisine, because of its bright color, the head and tail of the fish are upturned, the fish body is carved with a flower knife after the slices are erected into a hairy shape, and the whole fish is shaped like a squirrel. When serving, the steaming marinade is poured and the squirrel sound of "squeak" is also made. This dish has a sweet and sour taste, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, and is the most popular dish in Suzhou restaurants.
To say that the source of squirrel mandarin fish, I am afraid that it has to be calculated from the pre-Qin period, "Wu Yue Spring and Autumn" records the matter of specializing in the assassination of the king. Gongzi Guang obtained Wu Zixu and Sun Wu, and wanted to get rid of Wu Wang's staff to seek the throne, Wu Zixu recommended that the warriors concentrate on this heavy responsibility, but those who were close to the king were not allowed to wear swords, and there was no chance. Later, the king of the cast loved to eat "fish burning", hid the sword in the belly of the fish, and saw the opportunity to stab. There is Taigonghe by the Taihu Lake, who is good at burning fish, and specializes in learning to burn fish from him for three months. Gongzi Guang invited the king to a banquet, and specialized in the Tibetan fish intestine sword in the belly of the fish, and drew the sword when the fish was hot, and assassinated the king. Gongzi Guang thus sat on the throne, and he was the later famous King wu. The "Chronicle of Customs and Soils" also records that the "fish burning" and "fish" dishes that are popular in the palace of King Wu, "King Wu is a woman, arrogant, tastes and competes with the king for fish, complains and dies", and the princess is depressed and dies because of the competition with the king for fish, which shows the popularity of fish at that time.
This "fish burning" is the earliest prototype of the squirrel mandarin fish. Later generations used cucumber instead of sword, cooked this dish and named "fish intestine sword", Suzhou chefs inherited the skill of burning fish, creating today's squirrel mandarin fish. The fame of the squirrel mandarin fish is also due to Qianlong, Qianlong once counted the Jiangnan, in a certain trip to Suzhou in the Songhe Tower tasted the squirrel mandarin fish, because of its unique shape and taste and praise, since then the Songhe Tower of the squirrel mandarin fish famous all over the world.
The Qing Dynasty's "Tuning Ding Collection" records the practice of squirrel fish: "Take (fish season) fish, remove the belly from the bone, drag the egg yolk, fry the yellow, and make a squirrel style." Oil, soy sauce roasted". Nowadays people have long used starch instead of egg yolks. The mandarin fish is descaled, except for the head and tail, all of which are cut horizontally, but cannot be cut; the fish meat on both sides is turned over, the fish skin is placed downwards on the case, the chest thorn is removed, and the fish meat is slashed obliquely with a diamond-shaped small flower knife, taking care not to break the fish skin. Spread Shaoxing rice wine and fine salt on the fish, and then evenly dip the dry starch. Put the fish in 70% hot oil, pay attention to maintaining its squirrel shape, and fry the whole body into a light yellow; reuse the medium heat oil to 80%, and then fry the fish until golden brown. Use another pot under a little oil, stroke the shrimp oil, and remove and set aside. Heat a little oil to 50% heat over medium heat, sauté the chives, then stir-fry the minced garlic, bamboo shoots, diced mushrooms, peas, etc., add tomato sauce, sugar, vinegar, wine, salt and fresh soup, use wet starch to outline the mustard, pour a little hot oil and start cooking. Drizzle the sauce over the fried mandarin fish and sprinkle with cooked shrimp and you're done.
Cooking squirrel mandarin fish is a complex task that is hard to find on the home-cooked dinner table, but it is a must-have skill for chefs at Su Restaurant. The chef's knife work during the cooking process, the control of the shape of the fish when frying, and finally the grasp of the taste of the sauce are all great tests, and the freshness of the fish itself also affects the success of the final dish.
Yuanren Jia Ming wrote in the "Dietary Instructions" that "mandarin fish taste sweet and flat", this dish is suitable for people with weak physique to eat, especially for people with weak spleen and stomach. Asthmatics, hemoptysis patients or cold and wet patients should be avoided.
Songhelou Restaurant is a long-established restaurant in Suzhou that makes squirrel mandarin fish famous, and the eunuchs of Guanqian Street are the hottest restaurants, and there are always long queues at every meal. The decoration is luxurious but there is no shortage of classics, revealing the atmosphere of the old brand everywhere. Many of the dishes here can start with a single serving, and if you eat too few people, you can enjoy multiple dishes while avoiding waste. Nowadays, Songhe Tower has not only opened a number of branches in Suzhou, but also landed in Shanghai, Beijing and other places.