The reputation of Chinese squirrel mandarin fish hides a good story about Qianlong's southern tour. Legend has it that Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty went to the Songhe Tower in Suzhou in microsuit, and occasionally got this wonderful delicacy-fish meat with its head and tail raised, which was rolled up like the fluffy fur of a squirrel after being fried, and the "squeaking" when pouring juice was just like squirrel singing. Long Yan Da Yue's praise of Qianlong imperial pen made this original folk dish one of the imperial dishes. From the original squirrel carp, it was improved to mandarin fish with delicate meat. With the meaning of "toad palace won the laurels", it was fixed as the good name of "squirrel mandarin fish. The record of "dragging egg yolk and frying yellow to make squirrel style" in "Diao Ding Ji" confirms the 300-year inheritance of this famous Su Gang dish.

A authentic squirrel mandarin fish is the ultimate embodiment of the "kung fu aesthetics" of Subang cuisine. Choose about 1kg of spring mandarin fish, scale off the gills but not break the skin, cut two pieces of clean meat along the spine, remove the fine thorns, and use a 3mm knife distance to slant the diamond flower knife, but never cut off the fish skin-this "72-knife" stunt tests the chef's accuracy and patience. Potato starch is used to adjust the paste to a moderate thickness, and the frying system is divided into three conditions: 60% heat setting, 70% hot forced oil, 80% hot crisp skin, and the oil temperature error does not exceed 10 ℃. Finally, pour the sugar and vinegar juice boiled with soft white sugar, Zhenjiang vinegar and wine wine, and the ratio of sour and sweet is just right, so as to achieve the excellent taste of crisp outside and tender inside.

The squirrel mandarin fish on the table is a gourmet experience that mobilizes the whole senses. The golden crisp fish body is like a squirrel crouching, bright red cherries are dotted with "eyes", green green beans and light yellow bamboo shoots are dotted with it, and the colors are as beautiful as the spring scenery in the south of the Yangtze River. The moment the hot marinade was drenched, the sound of "Zi La" resounded through the dinner, as if squirrels were leaping on the branches. This is the most touching "soul sound" of this dish ". At the entrance, the "click" of the thin and crisp outer skin is first, and then the tender and juicy fish meat is tasted. The sour and sweet sauce is progressive, sweet but not sour but not astringent. The tail tone also brings the sweet and clear taste of mandarin fish itself, which is so rich that the tip of the tongue can produce fluid.

As one of the top ten classic dishes in Jiangsu, squirrel mandarin fish is not only a feast of taste, but also a good food supplement. Mandarin fish has a sweet and flat taste, with a protein content of up to 18.5 percent, rich in calcium, phosphorus, iron and vitamin B2. It has the effects of replenishing the five internal organs and benefiting the spleen, but it has only 3.5 percent fat content and is fresh but not greasy. At the banquet in the south of the Yangtze River, it is even more like a "head dish": the wedding banquet takes the meaning of "fish-water acacacia", the New Year's Festival symbolizes "wealth and surplus", and the elegant collection of literati praises its elegance of "golden vegetable and jade carp. On the dining table in old Suzhou, the elders always picked up a piece of fish and told them, "after eating squirrel mandarin fish, the coming year will be prosperous."

From the back kitchen of Songhe Tower to Chinese restaurants around the world, squirrel mandarin fish has long surpassed the meaning of a dish and has become a cultural symbol of Suzhou. The 68-year-old chef Su Bang still insists on choosing fish in the early morning and uses the unique skill of "frying in the air" to make the fish blossom perfectly. On the basis of preserving the traditional craft, the young chef tried to add lemon juice to refresh the classics. The first banquet of the founding of the country in 1949, Premier Zhou Enlai hosted a banquet for foreign guests. This dish is a representative of Subang cuisine, showing the world the delicacy and elegance of Jiangnan cuisine. Nowadays, whether it is the persistence of the ingenuity of the time-honored brand or the holiday necessity of the homely dining table, the squirrel mandarin fish always carries the wisdom of the people in the south of the Yangtze River, allowing the sweet and sour taste and the spirit of the craftsman to be passed on from generation to generation.