Chinese people are indispensable to a fish on the table of festivals such as the Spring Festival and lantern festival. Whether it is braised, steamed, or stewed, the fish symbolizes a good omen of "more than one year".
Among the fish cuisine, Chongqing boiled fish is unique. A large basin is served "imposingly", and after the entrance, it leaves a trace of tremor and numbness on the tip of the tongue. And its origins are also unusual, coming from an improvement or even subversion of ancestral craftsmanship.
In Chongqing's Yubei district, the Wang family has a long history of live fish cooking techniques. Wang's weekday farming, also a township banquet chef, especially good at cooking fresh fish, every time the neighbors encounter a red and white happy event, they rush to invite Wang's chef.
This skill was passed on to Wang Mingqing, the third generation of the family, but the young man had other plans. Grandpa and father are the famous local braised fish chefs, making fish first fried and then cooked, but he feels that the fish in this way is not tender, nor does it meet the spicy taste of Chongqing people.
In 1987, 37-year-old Wang Mingqing decided to open a shop to make fish according to his own ideas. The fish is not fried or cooked, sliced into strips, cooked directly in the pot, and then made into a fresh and spicy soup with chili peppers, peppers, ginger, garlic and other ingredients, so that the hot oil and hot soup collide with the smooth and tender fish to produce a hemp aroma.
He called this fish boiled fish.
On February 2, Wang Mingqing showed off the boiled fish that had just come out of the pot. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Wang Xiaoyao
In his and his wife Luo Liangqun's mom-and-pop shop, only four tables could be set up, and the two took care of all the work of buying fish, cooking, cleaning and so on.
Wang Mingqing weighed 215 pounds at the time. A diner said to him: "Now many restaurants are named after the owner, look at your figure, the name of the shop is Wang Fatzi, it can definitely catch fire." ”
As soon as Wang Fatzi's boiled fish was launched, it was really on fire. Many diners feel that this new way of making fish has a special taste and many repeat customers. The store receives more than 40 tables a day. Because of its proximity to the airport, many diners use it as a "punch-in point" for their last meal before leaving Chongqing and their first meal home.
The popularity of the small shop has led to the nearby catering business. Wang Mingqing mobilized relatives and friends around him to make boiled fish together, and also taught his painstakingly studied fishing skills and business experience free of charge. Since the 1990s, large and small boiled fish shops have sprung up around his shop, forming Chongqing's famous "boiled fish street".
In 2007, Yubei District was awarded the title of "Hometown of Boiled Fish in China" by the China Cuisine Association. In 2009, boiled fish was included in the first batch of intangible cultural heritage list in Yubei.
On February 2, Wang Mingqing (first from the right) instructed his apprentice Chen Li in the back kitchen. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Wang Xiaoyao
Over the decades, Wang Fatzi's boiled fish storefront has expanded several times, and the number of employees has also increased a lot, but the taste and practice of the fish have remained in every boiled fish. "After decades of doing it, there is no secret recipe, mainly relying on experience." Wang Mingqing said, "A glance at the size of the fish tells you how much soup to put in, and it only takes 10 minutes for a live fish to be slaughtered to the table." ”
As one of the inheritors of Chongqing's boiled fish intangible cultural heritage, Wang Mingqing only opened this one shop. The demolition and transformation of houses in the neighborhood, the shops on the street of boiled fish, many of them have moved to the downtown area with better business, but the plaque of Wang Fatzi Boiled Fish Restaurant has always been lit. Wang Mingqing said: "This area is the birthplace of boiled fish in northern Yubei, and I am reluctant to leave. ”
Daughter Wang Haiyan learned her father's craft from an early age. "My daughter is doing better than he is now." His wife, Luo Liangqun, said with a smile that now that the family has a New Year's dinner, the boiled fish can be handed over to her daughter.
Reporters: Wang Xiaoyao and Zhou Wenchong
Source: Xinhua Viewpoint