West Lake Vinegar Fish (Xi Hu Cu Yu) 西湖醋鱼

Beggar's Chicken (Jiao Hua Ji) 叫化鸡

Dongpo Pork (Dong Po Rou) 东坡肉

Dragon Well Shrimp with Tea (Long Jing Xia Ren)龙井虾仁

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West Lake Vinegar Fish (Xi Hu Cu Yu) 西湖醋鱼
“West Lake Vinegar Fish” is also called “Sister Song’s Treasure”.  You might well guess that a name like that would have a story behind it.

Long ago, there were two brothers by the name of Song.  Though they were wise, they chose to live not in the city but in the countryside, catching fish in nearby West Lake.  One day, evil Mr. Zhao was passing by the lake and happened to see a beautiful woman washing in its waters.  When Mr. Zhou discovered the woman was Elder Brother Song’s wife, he murdered Elder Song.    

Younger Song and Elder Song’s widow were infuriated by Mr. Zhao’s audacity and sought justice through a local magistrate.  Little did they know that the magistrate was a friend of Mr. Zhou’s.  Younger Song and Elder Song’s widow were beaten and thrown out of the court.  When the two returned to their West Lake home, defeated, Sister Song demanded that her brother-in-law flee to avoid Zhou’s retaliation.  “Make your fortune and come back for me,” she said.

Before Younger Song departed, Sister Song cooked him a special meal of fish with sugar and vinegar.  As he sat down to eat it, she said, “This fish is sweet and sour, just as life is sweet and sour.  When you have achieved the sweetness of a good life, remember the sour oppression of us commoners and your grieving sister-in-law.”  Younger Song was greatly moved. He finished the fish and left, her words ringing in his ears. Later, Younger Song succeeded in garnering fame and fortune and eventually returned to Hangzhou.  He avenged his elder brother and found his sister-in-law safe and well.

We have no way of knowing if the Vinegar Fish we eat today tastes the same as the fish Sister Song served her brother-in-law, but we like to think so.  Prepared with fresh grass carp from West Lake, the method used to cook the fish renders it fresh and tender, with a distinct flavor of crab meat.  The sweet and sour sauce used to flavor it further is a thick, black paste of vinegar and sugar.

Beggar's Chicken (Jiao Hua Ji) 叫化鸡
There are several versions of the myth surrounding the origins of Beggar’s Chicken.  Some suggest that a Hangzhou thief, lacking a stove to cook his stolen chicken, wrapped it in leaves and dug an oven in the ground in order to bake it; others say the thief wanted to conceal the odor of the roasting bird from hungry noses; while still others insist that a beggar covered the chicken with mud and tossed it into the fire.  But no matter which version you believe, they all agree on one point: the sealed chicken retained its flavor and juices.

Now Beggar’s Chicken is available to both vagabonds and kings. First stuffed with fried pork and wrapped with lotus leaves, the chicken is soaked in Shaoxing wine and coated with a layer of mud, then baked.  When the mud has dried all the way through, the chicken is done, and the resultant clay can easily be broken off in chunks. 

Dongpo Pork (Dong Po Rou) 东坡肉
Extraordinarily fatty (around a 50-50 fat-meat ratio), and thus extraordinarily flavorful, good Dongpo rou is not greasy, but rather melts on the tongue. 
Credit for the dish is given to Su Dongpo, a well-known author and poet during the Song Dynasty, to whom the people made a gift of wine and pigs for his faithful service as governor.  Accepting the gift, Su Dongpo ordered his men to cook up the meat, then turn around and serve it back to the people.  The pleased citizens of Hangzhou named the dish after him.

Dragon Well Shrimp with Tea (Long Jing Xia Ren)龙井虾仁
Chalk full of delicate white shrimp, green lotus shoots, and flavored with Dragon Well tea, this dish is pleasing in color and titillating to the taste buds.  It is said that this dish was created by accident when a Hangzhou chef spilled Dragon Well tea into a boiling pot of shrimp.

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