It is said that once stopping at the Crane House during his south Yangtze tour, Emperor Qian Long saw a carp frisking on the holy table and ordered it cooked for him. The chef, knowing it was the emperor's order, spared no efforts in flavoring and seasoning. In order to be exempted from the sin of killing the “holy fish”, he made the carp into the shape of a squirrel with its head and tail soaring high. The dark reddish brown fish, crisp outside and tender within, was sour and sweet enough for the emperor, whose appreciation gave the dish its name.
The mandarin fish is characterized by its tender flesh and sparseness of bones. After scaling and frying, the head of the fish looks big with its mouth wide open, its tail bent upwards, and its flesh imitating the bushy hair of a squirrel. It even squeaks like a squirrel if sprinkled with shrimp meat, dried bamboo shoots and tomato ketchup. Thus the Squirrel-shaped Mandarin Fish is complete in color, smell, flavor and sound.
