🍽️ Dongjiang Fish

Cold-lake fish, smoked or steamed.

Dongjiang Fish is a specialty around Dongjiang Lake in Zixing, Chenzhou, Hunan. The lake water is cold and year-round low in temperature, producing fish with tender meat and little muddy taste. Two common preparations are smoking and steaming: smoked fish is cured then smoked, firm and smoky, excellent stir-fried with chili as a rice dish; steaming highlights the fish's own sweetness, finished with soy sauce, scallion and ginger. Dongjiang Lake is known for carp, grass carp and small knife fish, and either way the emphasis is on freshness and heat control. It is a common river-fish dish on both Chenzhou banquets and home tables, and a must-try for visitors touring the lake; the clean sweetness raised by mountain spring water is hard to reproduce elsewhere.