Grain flower fish is a kind of carp with black body color named procypris merus. It is mainly fed in the fields of southern mountainous area. Because it eats the grain flowers which drop on the surface of fields, it is tasted with the fragrance of grain flower. That’s the key reason why it is called grain flower fish. This fish grows rapidly with strong reproducibility. Compared with some other fishes, it is with less bone but higher protein content tender meat. Generally speaking, it weighs 50-250g/fish. In Qianlong Emperor period of Qing Dynasty, it is one of the famous imperial tributes. Currently, its annual feeding areas are 26,700hectares with the annual production of 7600tons.

1. Introduction

Chenzhou city is located in Nanling and the highest latitude there is up to 2000meters. Though it is in the south of Hunan province, the weather in some mountainous areas is even colder than north of Hunan province, and the water of mountainous springs is ice-cold in the winter. Grain flower fish is a kind of fish fed by the grain flowers in cold water. Its skin is smooth and it can be fried or boiled with sound taste. So it is a specialty dish for Yongchun people to serve their friends and honorable guests. When the grains become yellow, it is the harvest season for grain flower fish. In the past, because of the poor life, local people just kept the fishes for themselves and seldom sold. Thanks to the guidance of local Party Committee and Government, the farmers are more aware of the brand. The grain flower fish became popular in the market. The fresh fish can be sold with the price of 14yuan/half kg and the dry one can be sold as 120yuan/half kg. Generally speaking, the grain flower fish can only be issued to the market every July or August before the grains are mature. Some of the grain flower fish sold in the market are fake, for example, some ordinary carps which are fed in the fields for about one month.

2. Types of eating

Because the grain flower fish are fed by the grain flowers, it is a kind of seasonal food. Its types of eating are special. Generally speaking, fresh cooked and dry cooked are two main types. Fresh cooked means to cook the fresh fish once it is picked up from the field. White pepper, green pepper, rice wine vinegar and some other local dosing are used to cook this fresh fish. It will be added some soup as well, which tastes really fresh. The fried cooked type is more complicated than the fresh type. Following are some basic procedures for this type: clearing internal organs- salted for over 8 hours – fried (by lard oil or tea oil)- baked( by charcoal fire or firewood)- stored (in the jars with lime). The procedure of “fried” is required with special skills that the fish can’t be split.