The Complete Guide to Cooking Black Carp: Simple, Delicious Home-Style Recipes

Black carp (Mylopharyngodon piceus) is a common freshwater farmed fish in China and one of the traditional Four Great Domestic Fish. It has a relatively large body, and because it likes to eat mollusks such as river snails, it is also commonly known among the people as snail carp. The flesh of black carp is thick and firm, with relatively few intermuscular bones, and it is fresh without being fishy, making it popular in many households. When preparing it, it is usually cut into sections or chunks, which makes it easier to absorb flavor and also easier to cook through.

Home-style methods mostly consist of braising and stewing. For braised black carp chunks, you can first marinate them briefly with cooking wine, ginger slices, and a little salt, then pan-fry until both sides are slightly golden, add soy sauce, sugar, and hot water, and simmer until the sauce reduces. The finished dish is glossy red, savory, and pleasantly fresh. Black carp stewed with tofu is also very popular: after frying the fish chunks until fragrant, add hot water, put in the tofu cubes, and simmer gently over low heat. The broth becomes rich and white, and the fish is tender.

Besides braising and stewing, black carp is also suitable for making smoked fish, fish balls, or curing into preserved fish. The deep-fried fish of the Jiangnan region is mostly made with black carp. The fish chunks are fried through and then soaked while hot in prepared braising sauce, crisp outside and tender inside, with a unique flavor. A whole large fish, after being cured and air-dried thoroughly, can be steamed and sliced, savory and good with rice, and this is a traditional way of eating it in many places.

A few points need attention when cooking. When selecting black carp, choose fresh individuals with clear eyes, bright red gills, and elastic flesh; the black membrane and blood inside the belly must be cleaned thoroughly, then use ginger, scallions, and cooking wine to remove the fishy smell, which gives a better final taste. When braising or stewing, the heat should not be too high, to avoid the fish falling apart and affecting both flavor and appearance.