Yangshuo Beer Fish is one of the most famous local dishes that are popular with people in all over the world. The fresh fish cooked with beer will cause you a good appetite. When traveling in Yangshuo, if you miss to enjoy the beer fish, you may miss a chance to experience the very local Yangshuo eating culture.
Characters of Beer Fish
A slang in Yangshuo describes the beer fish as “you don’t know how delicious it is until you enjoy it in Yangshuo”. The unique taste attracts thousands of tourists. All of them will phrase this dish and immediately recommend to their friends.
People who eat beer fish first time will be amazed at the crispy fish skin. The crispy skin with delicious sauce will bring diners a brand-new taste. Pepper is the highlight of this dish. If you refuse to eat this dish with pepper, you may regret to eat the essential taste of beer fusg.
Fish to cook in this dish is the selected carps from Li River. Fried by oil producing in north mountainous district in Guilin, and then cooked by beer, the well smelling and taste only can be eaten in Yangshuo. So this dish becomes one of the most attractive points in Yangshuo tourism.
A Story of Beer Fish
It is said that this special local dish was discovered by chance. In the early period, there were a few hotels and restaurants in Yangshuo, what was worse, the facilities were very simple, so most of tourists wouldn't stay in Yangshuo after they got off the boat.
One day, a driver saw the fish was burnt with smoke in the pan, he poured one bottle of beer into the pan without thinking. The people around thought the dish must be over and couldn't be eaten. To their surprise, the dish was so fragrant and soft. From then on, this local dish was spread over every corner.
Ingredients introduction
There are two major elements: one is using Lijiang river water in Yangshuo to cook, the second is to use fresh live carp of Lijiang river. Live carp is disemboweled but not scraping scales, and it is flat cutting in half, cross cut each half for seasoning totally. Sprinkle with shredded ginger and other spices and put into pan fried, then turn into open flame and deep-frying until scales become soft and slightly rolled up and the fish become brown, you can pour into soy sauce, add the tomatoes and red pepper, and pour half a bottle of beer to braise.
What to Choose as Ingredients
Yangshuo Beer Fish, lies in the exquisite materials, the locals can make beer fish in their house, if you want to make a real beer fish, there are mainly two methods: one is to use new fresh carp in Yangshuo Lijiang River, second is to use the Lijiang river water to cook fish, and add fresh tomatoes and green red pepper. Yangshuo beer fish is to choose big carp living in Lijiang River, boil with raw tea oil of mountainous area in north of Guangxi, and then pour into the fine beer made in Guilin, which has a unique crisp and tender flavor.
Matters needing attention
1. The authentic beer fish does not need to cut off the scales and some people especially like to eat fried curly scales and if not accustomed to, scales also can be removed;
2. Before fish is put into the pot, be sure to dry the pot, otherwise hot oil will splash out and easy to burn, and the fish skin is easily broken;
3. The light soy sauce and chili sauce contains salt, therefore do not need to add salt.
4. The process of fish stewing, avoid flipping from making fish crushed;