🍽️ Smelly Mandarin Fish

Smells bad but tastes good, a signature Anhui dish.

Stinky mandarin fish is the signature of Huizhou cuisine, centered on Huangshan and old Huizhou in Anhui. Fresh mandarin fish is lightly salted and fermented for days, developing a pungent but not truly rotten aroma that turns fragrant once pan-fried and braised. The flesh flakes into garlic-clove-like chunks, firm and tender, with a savory, faintly piquant finish. It is braised with pork, bamboo shoots and chili. In old Huizhou's mountain-and-water setting, fermentation preserved fish for transport, and today defines the region's most recognizable flavor. After visiting Hongcun villages or climbing Huangshan, restaurants feature it as a showpiece; once tasted, its stink becomes memorable.