Snow-on-Grass Yellow Croaker – Dish Fit for an Empress

Qing Dynasty Emperor Qianlong (1711-1799) was on his way back to the capital after one of his periodic visits to southern China when he came upon a huge, snow-white translucent boulder in a bamboo grove. After remarking on the beauty and immensity of what appeared to him a snow dune on lush green grass, he ordered that it be brought to the royal palace. The task called for an army of workers and took six months to accomplish.

The emperor chose as a setting for the stone the Qingyi Garden (Garden of Clear Ripples) in the Summer Palace. The Queen Mother was angry at the cost in labor of transporting the stone to Beijing. To appease her, Emperor Qianlong gave a banquet. Its main fish dish was his mother’s favorite, the yellow croaker. He named it “Snow-on-Grass Yellow Croaker,” in reference to one of the 24 well-known tales in ancient China enshrining filial piety. Its protagonist, Wang Xiang, lay on a frozen river to melt the ice and catch a fish to cook for his sick stepmother. After tasting the dish, the empress dowager’s anger also melted away.

This dish, enjoyed for centuries, is synonymous with the love a son bears his mother.

Ingredients: whole yellow croaker, slices of ham, golden jelly fungus, fresh winter bamboo shoots, yolk and white of one egg, dry starch, plain flour, vinegar, salt, chicken stock, Shaoxing wine, lard, chicken fat, prickly ash powder, sliced shallot, ginger garlic and sea cucumber, white pepper powder.

1. Remove the fish tail and skin, cut the head in half and slice the meat. Marinate the fish meat and head in a mixture of salt, Shaoxing wine and prickly ash powder.

2. Whip the egg white until it foams, add dry starch and a little flour and mix thoroughly.

3. Mix the egg yolk with a sprinkle of dry starch to make a batter.

4. Coat the fish slices with the egg white mixture and deep fry. Coat the fish head with the egg yolk mixture and fry. Mix the remnants of the yolk batter with ketchup, coat the tail in it and fry. Place the fried head and tail at either end of the plate with the fish slices in-between.

5. Flash fry the sliced shallot, ginger and garlic in the lard, add the rest of the vegetables and remaining ingredients to make a sauce and pour over the entire dish.

The fish head resembles that of a rising yellow dragon, its tail is phoenix red, and the meat in-between is snow-white. It is delicious beyond description.