Cook this
The working recipe — the Market List, the Method, and where it lives or dies
I
Origin
Shanghai/Jiangnan — a fixture of Shanghainese cold dish platters; particularly associated with Songhu flavour (a Shanghai restaurant district)
II
Description
Shanghai xun yu: fried then smoke-glazed fish (typically grass carp or mackerel) — a defining Shanghainese cold dish and banquet starter. The fish is first marinated in five spice, soy, and Shaoxing wine, deep-fried until crispy, then briefly immersed in a hot glaze of dark soy, rock sugar, vinegar, and Chinese five spice, which creates a lacquered, smoke-infused surface.
III
The Thread
—Japanese teriyaki (glazed grilled fish)
—Cantonese char siu (similar glaze principle on pork)
—Taiwanese three cup fish (wine-soy-sesame glaze)
IV
Flavour Context
Sweet, spiced, dark caramelised coating, tender fish — quintessentially Shanghainese in its sweet-savoury balance
Pillars V — VII
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Quality hierarchy, sensory tests, and where the dish lives or dies — on every entry in the Library.
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