A staple in rural Xiangtan, Xiangxiang, and Shaoshan, available year-round. The fish can be fried, stir-fried, or steamed, enhanced with chili, garlic, perilla, and mint—incredibly tasty, perfect with rice

Recipe: Clean small fish, remove guts, dry in a pan over low heat. Once cool, smoke with rice husks, peanut shells, orange peels, and wood shavings. Portable and storable, this dish was a favorite of Chairman Mao, making it famous nationwide. Now served at hotels and restaurants as “Mao’s Fire-Dried Fish”.