How Did Stinky Mandarin Fish Become the Icon of Anhui Cuisine?
If you haven't tried stinky mandarin fish, how can you claim to have visited Anhui? This dish single-handedly elevates the entire cuisine's presence—that's the power of stinky mandarin fish!
As a signature dish of Anhui cuisine and a famous "intangible cultural heritage food," stinky mandarin fish boasts an impeccable pedigree. As a bold-flavored dish, it is also a daily staple in Hunan, Hubei, Guizhou, and other regions. Alongside stinky tofu and snail rice noodles, stinky mandarin fish is a representative "stinky" delicacy and a newfound internet sensation.
When a mandarin fish becomes stinky mandarin fish, its status transforms entirely.
With a history spanning centuries, stinky mandarin fish embodies the unique geography and culture of ancient Huizhou.
Surrounded by mountains—Huangshan, Tianmu Mountain, Baiji Mountain, Wulong Mountain—Huizhou is cradled by ranges and threaded with rivers. The southern humidity nurtures Huizhou into a gentle, misty Jiangnan-like region. Yet, this is not a "land of fish and rice." Behind the white walls and black tiles, Huizhou people, living off mountains and rivers, crave bold, intense flavors. With the rise of Huizhou merchants, stinky mandarin fish crossed mountain barriers, spreading from Huizhou to the entire nation. It witnessed the essence and glorious history of Huizhou merchants.
Stinky mandarin fish's robust flavor has won fans far beyond Anhui.
For Anhui people today, stinky mandarin fish is not just a dish or a taste—it's a cultural symbol etched into memory.
Anhui cuisine originated from "Huizhou cuisine." Blending Huizhou cuisine with southern Anhui, Yangtze River, Hefei, Huainan, and northern Anhui styles, modern Anhui cuisine emerged, unifying the scattered regions of Anhui.
Even the character "Hui" in Anhui is borrowed from Huizhou's "Hui."
Huizhou contributes half of Anhui's identity.
Today, Huizhou (roughly excluding Wuyuan, which was划出去) has been replaced by "Huangshan City." Though historically Huizhou accounted for only a fraction of Anhui's territory, its imprint on Anhui's history is indelible.
In Anhui, where plains dominate, Huizhou's geography is unique. "Surrounded by mountains"—if Ouyang Xiu, who wrote "The Old Drunkard's Pavilion" in Chuzhou, had visited Huizhou, his famous line "环滁皆山也" (Chuzhou is surrounded by mountains) might have been rewritten. "Seventy percent mountains, ten percent water, ten percent farmland, and ten percent roads and gardens" vividly captures Huizhou's terrain.
Encircled by mountains and rivers, Huizhou has more hills than fields.
To develop agriculture, generations prioritized building dams and irrigation systems.
Though Huizhou lacked grain, it abounded in local products: tea, bamboo shoots, mushrooms, wood ears, chestnuts, Chinese yam, stone frogs, stone fish... Living off the mountains, Huizhou's bounty of wild delicacies enriched Anhui's produce and laid the foundation for Huizhou cuisine. To this day, when people think of Anhui cuisine, Wenzheng Mountain bamboo shoots and "Yipin Pot" remain top of mind.
Huangshan, famed for its sea of clouds, spans northern Huizhou, blocking cold fronts from the north. The rainy climate, combined with humidity trapped by the mountains, creates a misty, fairy-tale Jiangnan realm. "Sky blue awaits the misty rain"—and also the fermenting freshness. In this warm, humid environment, Huizhou ham and hairy tofu were born.
In the eyes of Huizhou people, Huizhou ham has the finest flavor.
In the Huizhou dialect, "鲜腌" (fresh curing) sounds close to "臭" (stinky), reflecting the pursuit of umami. This is a taste achieved through salt curing, where chemistry between salt and food creates fermentation. In the past, fresh food was hard to preserve long-term, so Huizhou people developed a "salt-heavy" tradition, shaping the character of Anhui cuisine.
Huizhou people love mandarin fish, though it is not locally abundant. This admiration reflects Huizhou's cultural ties to Jiangnan. "Peach blossoms flow, mandarin fish grow plump"—a famed Jiangnan fish, mandarin fish frequently appeared in Tang poetry, and dishes like squirrel-shaped mandarin fish remain classics today.
As a renowned Jiangnan fish, mandarin fish enjoys high popularity nationwide.
As a result, Huizhou became heavily reliant on "importing" mandarin fish from places like Anqing, Tongling, and Chizhou. However, due to inconvenient transportation, the journey took six or seven bumpy days. To prevent spoilage, fishmongers layered the fish in wooden barrels with salt between each layer and pressed them down with stones. Even so, the fresh mandarin fish underwent a transformation, developing a peculiar odor that was somewhat foul yet not entirely unpleasant.
Yet, this was how the fish gained a new lease on life! The people of Huizhou discovered that after washing, frying, and then stewing with bamboo shoots, pork, chili peppers, scallions, ginger, and garlic, the foul smell disappeared, replaced by a delightful freshness. Chewing slowly revealed a unique sweet savor. The stone-pressed fish also became firmer, and its compact texture contributed to the distinctive springy mouthfeel of stinky mandarin fish.
Pickling stinky mandarin fish has become a traditional craft in Anhui.
As a major invention of the Huizhou people, the emergence of stinky mandarin fish was no accident. Other Huizhou dishes like Laba tofu and hairy tofu are also famous for their "stink." Thus, stinky mandarin fish, which embodies the geography, climate, and dietary habits of Huizhou, easily became a signature dish of Anhui cuisine.
From afar, the ancient city of Huizhou, with its black tiles and white walls, presents the serene and gentle charm of a Jiangnan town, but its essence is not as quaint as typical Jiangnan style. Represented by stinky mandarin fish, Anhui cuisine reveals the inner fervor of the Huizhou people.
"Birds of a feather flock together": Stinky mandarin fish spreads from Anhui to the whole country.
Huizhou acted like a processing factory—mandarin fish went in, and stinky mandarin fish came out. The renowned Huizhou merchants inadvertently became the "carriers" of stinky mandarin fish. It was precisely because large numbers of Huizhou people went out to do business that stinky mandarin fish managed to leave the mountains of Huizhou and gain fame far and wide.
"If you weren’t cultivated in a past life, you’d be born in Huizhou; at thirteen or fourteen, you’re thrown out to make a living." Due to limited land and a dense population, ancient Huizhou could only produce enough grain to feed the local population for about three months each year. Harsh natural conditions forced the Huizhou people to leave home early and in large numbers to seek livelihoods elsewhere.
The mountainous terrain of southern Anhui not only squeezed arable land resources,
but the harsh rural environment also shattered any hopes of a comfortable life for the Huizhou people, forging the "camel spirit" of Huizhou merchants. Unlike the outgoing temperament of Fujian people, who believe "daring to strive leads to victory," the Huizhou merchants, one of the three major merchant groups in modern China, were more reserved.
For Anhui people away from home, stinky mandarin fish was the most suitable food to carry on their journeys: the pickled and fermented fish stored well and formed a deep emotional connection with the wandering Huizhou people. Stinky mandarin fish became a hometown delicacy that Anhui people passionately promoted abroad.
Similar to how Fujian cuisine flourished across Southeast Asia, the Huizhou people spread their business nationwide and brought Anhui cuisine with them. Perhaps even the Huizhou merchants themselves did not anticipate that they had inadvertently completed a cultural enterprise.
Today, Huizhou merchants have become history, and even in the well-preserved ancient city of Huizhou, it is hard to find traces of their former glory. However, stinky mandarin fish, which traveled north and south with the merchants, continues to vigorously expand its "commercial territory."
Nowadays, stinky mandarin fish enjoys strong "organic reach" and is regarded as the soul of Anhui cuisine. It is not only a famous mandarin fish dish but also a pungent delicacy. In the hearts of "stink enthusiasts," stinky mandarin fish, stinky tofu, and river snail rice noodles are hailed as the "three stinky delights of the mortal world." Commonly found in Anhui cuisine, it also frequently appears in Guizhou, Hubei, and Hunan cuisines—stinky mandarin fish has a formidable presence.
The stinky mandarin fish in Hunan cuisine is quite spicy.
The people of Guizhou, who are unequivocal about eating "stinky" foods, have no trouble embracing stinky mandarin fish; in Hunan and Hubei, it becomes even spicier. The original flavor of stinky mandarin fish fascinates Anhui people, yet as a strong-flavored ingredient, it also demonstrates remarkable adaptability in the cuisines of Guizhou, Hubei, and Hunan. Integrating into these three major culinary provinces has won stinky mandarin fish more followers, gradually establishing it as a representative national pungent delicacy.
For many, the deliciousness of stinky mandarin fish is often a matter of either the first time or countless times—thus, it has successfully broken into the mainstream!
Once the stinky mandarin fish is pickled, it tastes great no matter how you cook it.
Photo/Bailu, Image/Figure Insect · Creativity
Stinky mandarin fish was born in an era without freezing technology and inconvenient transportation. Today, eating fresh mandarin fish is no challenge for Anhui people, yet stinky mandarin fish has not faded away. Instead, it has grown even more popular, spreading from a local delicacy to a nationwide trend, integrating into various culinary cultures and creating more diverse sparks.
Not long ago, a story about a "post-90s gymnastics champion selling Huizhou stinky mandarin fish" opened up a whole new perception of stinky mandarin fish and made it possible for Chinese people to enjoy it freely.
In the past, having a delicious stinky mandarin fish required some luck. The marination process involves certain technical thresholds—the chef’s experience, temperature, humidity, and marination time all determine the quality of the fish. As a result, stinky mandarin fish became a dish with highly unpredictable flavors—a thousand chefs might produce a thousand variations.
The boundary between fragrant and stinky has always been a kind of "mystical science."
Whether the stinky mandarin fish you make tastes good
depends on whether the fish itself is delicious.
Today, in fermentation rooms with constant temperature and humidity, the production process of stinky mandarin fish is controlled through precise calculations, capturing its "freshness" perfectly. In 2017, stinky mandarin fish gained fame after being featured in the documentary A Bite of China, becoming a well-known Anhui regional delicacy. "Huisan Stinky Mandarin Fish," which mastered full assembly-line production technology, achieved sales exceeding 100 million yuan that year.
Since 2020, the pandemic has accelerated the shift of stinky mandarin fish sales from offline to online. Thanks to advancements in courier logistics, the "freshness" of the fish at the time of production remains intact during transportation. Its consistent flavor and fresh texture have earned stinky mandarin fish a place among "high-quality agricultural products."
The quality of stinky mandarin fish ordered online is trustworthy.
In 2020, Zeng Yu, a post-90s gymnastics champion, chose Pinduoduo to open his first online store selling stinky mandarin fish. In the same year, "Huisan Stinky Mandarin Fish" ranked first in both sales and positive reviews in the freshwater fish category on Pinduoduo within just 14 days of launch. Stinky mandarin fish sold on Pinduoduo found a new market positioning.
Driven by Pinduoduo, other agricultural products from Xiuning County in Huangshan City—one of the main production areas of stinky mandarin fish—have joined the online sales wave, with sales reaching approximately 200 million yuan. The promising future extends beyond the stinky mandarin fish industry.
Top: Han Kejun, municipal representative inheritor of Huizhou stinky mandarin fish making techniques, marinating the fish;
Bottom: Pinduoduo live stream promoting stinky mandarin fish.
Dedicated to discovering more high-quality agricultural products, Pinduoduo introduces users to local "good farm goods" through its "Xunxian China - Duoduo Hao Nonghuo" project. Today, Pinduoduo’s agricultural product consumption IP—the "Farmers' Festival"—has been held for four consecutive years. Spanning 24 days, it reaches nearly 2,000 production regions, covering 200,000 primary and processed agricultural products and over 100,000 agricultural stores across the country. In recent years, "affordable luxury fruits" such as Sunshine Roses and Guanxi pomelos have become popular items, reflecting the platform’s and high-quality agricultural products’ dual appeal.
Authenticity and local character are important standards for defining good agricultural products. Just like stinky mandarin fish, which always carries an indelible Anhui imprint, Anhui is also considered the best "place of origin" for stinky mandarin fish in the hearts of Chinese people. The development of e-commerce platforms like Pinduoduo not only supports agriculture and revitalizes rural areas but also outlines a map of China’s local specialties.
Header image photography | Fang Tuomasi
Cover image photography | Fang Tuomasi