🍽️ Wanzhou Grilled Fish

Fish grilled then braised in spicy broth.

Wanzhou Grilled Fish originated along the Yangtze in Wanzhou, Chongqing, and is a hybrid dish: first grilled, then braised. A whole fish is marinated and cooked over charcoal until the skin is slightly charred, then transferred to a metal platter of red-oil broth with potatoes, lotus root, bean sprouts, konjac and celery, kept bubbling over a small stove. The skin is smoky and crisp while the flesh soaks up the spicy, numbing, savoury broth, becoming more flavourful the longer it simmers. It merges the aroma of barbecue with the depth of a hotpot broth, and comes in spicy, pickled-chili or black-bean versions. Along the riverfront of Wanzhou, it is the star of late-night stalls, shared around a stove by groups of friends.