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52. 烤鱼 (kǎo yú)

I surrender. The list refuses to give up.

About 6 years ago, there was a sudden craze for 烤鱼 (kǎo yú). It was sold in restaurants, but also in roadside shacks throughout the area. Groups of people would gather in the evenings over a few beers and order up their 烤鱼 (kǎo yú), sharing in its delights.

Here is an example that I ate in a corrugated iron hut in the middle of nowhere, somewhere south of Liuzhou. What you see is probably a pile of vegetables, mainly bean sprouts, but buried under that mound of vegetables is the actual 烤鱼 (kǎo yú) – roast fish.

Normally, the fish is grilled whole 罗非鱼 (luó fēi yú), tilapia and depending on the size of your group, there will be be one or more of the critters. The dish bears the influence of Sichuan, being spicy with 豆瓣酱 (dòu bàn jiàng) and chilli peppers. Luxury versions sometimes include snails.

Tilapia

The vegetation usually includes cow peas, garlic, ginger, greens and I can spot some lizard's tail, aka chameleon plant, heartleaf, or fishwort, Cordata Houttuynia, a local favourite. In Chinese, it is 鱼腥草 (yú xīng cǎo), which literally translates as “fish smell grass”. Taro is also often added.

Lizard's Tail

With the weather turning chilly, a quite a few tilapia will be be going to bed in a  mess of bean sprouts over the next couple of months or more. It hasn't lost any popularity.

52. 烤鱼 (kǎo yú)

I surrender. The list refuses to give up.

About 6 years ago, there was a sudden craze for 烤鱼 (kǎo yú). It was sold in restaurants, but also in roadside shacks throughout the area. Groups of people would gather in the evenings over a few beers and order up their 烤鱼 (kǎo yú), sharing in its delights.

Here is an example that I ate in a corrugated iron hut in the middle of nowhere, somewhere south of Liuzhou. What you see is probably a pile of vegetables, mainly bean sprouts, but buried under that mound of vegetables is the actual 烤鱼 (kǎo yú) – roast fish.

Normally, the fish is grilled whole 罗非鱼 (luó fēi yú), tilapia and depending on the size of your group, there will be be one or more of the critters. The dish bears the influence of Sichuan, being spicy with 豆瓣酱 (dòu bàn jiàng) and chilli peppers.

Tilapia

The vegetation usually includes cow peas, garlic, ginger, greens and I can spot some lizard's tail, aka chameleon plant, heartleaf, or fishwort, Cordata Houttuynia, a local favourite. In Chinese, it is 鱼腥草 (yú xīng cǎo), which literally translates as “fish smell grass”

Lizard's Tail

With the weather turning chilly, a quite a few tilapia will be be going to bed in a  mess of bean sprouts over the next couple of months or more.