Keywords: Suzhou cuisine, Jiangsu cuisine, fried fish, grass carp

Nowadays grass carp is often used for Suzhou fried fish, although some gastronomes insist black carp is better because the flesh is firmer, resulting in fried pieces that won’t crumble as easily. Some are also willing to pay a premium for fresh fish, which not only tastes better but also saves trouble by negating the need for the pre-frying and fishiness-ridding marination (or just a brief marination w/ simple salt rub).
今天的爆鱼多用草鱼，不过有些美食家坚持青鱼更好，因为肉质更紧致，炸后不易散。新鲜鱼也是普遍更好，腥味更淡，甚至无需炸前祛腥 (或者只需简单地抹盐，短暂腌制，稍微杀腥)。

With regard to the more crucial post-frying marinade, some advises sugar should be added to the extent that it cannot fully dissolve in the liquid, because this is key to eliminating the “earthiness” (not fishiness) of the fish. In addition, some opine that the marinade ought to be chilled to help tighten the flesh of the fried fish.
至于用于腌制炸好的鱼的卤汁，有人建议加糖需要加到无法在液体中溶解为止，因为糖才是祛除草鱼泥土气的法宝。另有人提出冰镇卤汁，赋予味道的同时利于鱼肉收紧，一举两得。

Baoyu (爆鱼), or Suzhou fried fish, might have transmitted to Shanghai and given rise to the local style xunyu fried fish. Xunyu (熏鱼) is slightly different according to some recipes, but I’ll save that for a future Shanghai food video.
有人说苏州的爆鱼兴许是上海熏鱼的鼻祖，但两者在某些做法当中是有所区分的，不过留到以后的上海菜视频再讲。

PS: On my way home, got drawn by the smell of more fried fish and couldn’t resist like sailors lured by the sounds of the Sirens https://youtu.be/SuukL0BlE48
回家路上，又遇爆鱼！

Name: 老摊头爆鱼
Add.: 葑门横街113号，红板桥旁边 (江苏苏州 Suzhou, Jiangsu Province)
Tel.: 18118168699
Cost (this meal): RMB 30/p
Price (online info): RMB 33/p

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