🍽️ Crunchy Grass Carp

Special-fed carp with crunchy flesh, great for hotpot.

Crunchy grass carp is a special carp variety developed around the Changjiang Reservoir in Zhongshan. The fish is not naturally crunchy; rather, in late-stage farming the carp are fed on Northeast Chinese broad beans, which changes the protein structure so that the flesh turns crisp and springy instead of soft. Once cooked, the fillets hold their shape even after long boiling and chew like shellfish, with a satisfying crunch. Zhongshan people most often enjoy it as a hotpot: a clear broth with tofu and ginger, thin slices swirled for just seconds and dipped in soy-bean sauce; the fish can also be stir-fried in slices or simmered into congee with the bones. It gives freshwater fish the crisp bite normally associated with seafood, a clever Zhongshan innovation in feeding and finishing, and has become one of the most popular river-fish hotpot ingredients in the Pearl River Delta in winter.