Fried dace with salted black beans facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Fried dace with salted black beans |
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Fried dace with salted black beans on a plate
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| Traditional Chinese | 豆豉鯪魚 | ||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 豆豉鲮鱼 | ||||||||||||||||
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Fried dace with salted black beans is a popular canned food from China. It's made with a fish called Cirrhinus molitorella, also known as dace. This fish comes from the Pearl River in China. The "salted black beans" are actually fermented black soybeans. These are known as "dau si" in Cantonese. To make this dish, dace fish is combined with salted black beans. Then, it's preserved in oil inside a can.
Contents
How This Canned Food Started
Fried dace with salted black beans first came from Guangzhou, China. Before China became more industrial in the 1950s, many people from the Pearl River Delta region traveled for work. They often went to countries in Southeast Asia.
These travelers would fry dace fish and preserve it. They used salted black beans to keep it fresh. They brought this food with them because they were not used to eating foreign meals. Over time, this tradition grew into a business. The first canned fried dace with salted black beans was made in 1893. This happened at the Guangzhou Guangmaoxiang Canned Food Factory in China.
Around the 1960s, many people in Hong Kong had low incomes. They also lived in difficult conditions. Canned fried dace with salted black beans became very common. It was cheap and lasted a long time. Its strong taste meant it could be eaten with just rice. Sometimes, families would cook it at home. This made the dish feel warm and special. For many in Hong Kong, this canned food became a shared memory.
Why People Eat Less of It Now
People eat less fried dace with salted black beans today. There are a few reasons for this change. First, Hong Kong's economy grew in the 1970s. People's incomes and social status improved. With more money, they could choose from many different foods.
Second, people in Hong Kong started getting more education. They began thinking about how nutritious their food was. Some studies suggest that canned food might have less nutrition. This is because of how it is processed. So, people started eating less fried dace with salted black beans.
Also, many people still keep a few cans at home. They save them for emergencies or bad weather. This canned food is now made by many different companies. You can easily buy it in supermarkets. It's usually bought in cans instead of being cooked at home. This is because it's quick and easy.
Ingredients and Taste
This canned product has seven main ingredients. These are fresh dace fish, salted black beans, vegetable oil, sugar, soybean sauce, salt, and spices. The taste is very salty. It also has a slightly smoky flavor from the black beans.
The dace fish is preserved in vegetable oil. It has a chewy texture. The bones inside are soft and can be eaten. The fish tastes well-seasoned with the black beans. It also has a savory flavor from the spices.
How to Prepare and Serve It
You can eat fried dace with salted black beans in different ways. You can eat it cold, straight from the can. Or, you can heat it up before serving. Other popular ways to eat it include mixing it with stir-fried green vegetables. It also tastes great with noodles or plain white rice.
Marketing This Canned Food
Packaging Style
Canned fried dace with salted black beans usually comes in an oval-shaped tin can.
Who Buys This Food
Fried dace with salted black beans has always been popular. It is often bought by people with lower and middle incomes. In the 1990s, families with less money had to watch their spending on food. They could easily afford this canned fish.
Middle-income families also used it for emergencies. For example, they would eat it during bad weather. So, fried dace with salted black beans was a common dish for these groups. It is still sometimes eaten by them today. Even though people can now afford more nutritious foods, many still buy this canned food. They like it because it is convenient and cheap.
