West Lake Fish(Chinese: 西湖醋鱼; pinyin: xīhúcùyú), also known as Song Sao Fish (Chinese: 宋嫂鱼; pinyin: sòngsǎoyú), is a traditional local specialty dish of Hangzhou in Zhejiang province. It first originated in Southern Song Dynasty. The material of West Lake Fish in Vinegar Gravy usually is the grass carp. After cooking, the chef will pour the smooth sugar and vinegar on the fish, which will cause the pectoral fin to stand up. In this way, the fish is tender and sweet with special crab flavor.
It is said that there was two brothers who made a living by fishing, Song and his brother. The local villain Zhao once visited the West Lake and saw a beauty, who was Song's wife. After realizing that the beauty was Song's wife, Zhao killed Song in order to marry the beauty. Because Zhao had cooperated with local government, Song's wife and the younger brother had no way to fight against Zhao.
Song's wife asked the younger brother to escape in case of the revenge from Zhao. Song's wife cooked the fish with sugar and vinegar as farewell. The younger brother felt very strange to have fish with sugar and vinegar, which he had never tried before. Song's wife explained that the sweet flavor could support the younger brother to fight for a better life, and the sour flavor reminded him about the bad life the poor had. Song's younger brother moved a lot and worked hard after leaving Hangzhou. Several years later, Song's younger brother became an authority and put the villain into jail. When Song's younger brother wanted to find his sister-in-law, he couldn't because Song's wife hid away from the villain. One day when the younger brother had a lunch in a restaurant, he found that the fish was tasted just like the fish cooked by his sister-in-law. He asked who the chef was and found that the chef was his sister-in-law in surprise.
Then the younger brother took Song's wife home and quit the job and made a living by fishing again.
Later, a poet tried this dish and shocked a lot. The poet wrote a poetry on the wall of the restaurant with a strong feeling. The poetry was "裙屐联翩买醉来，绿阳影里上楼台；门前多少游湖艇，半自三潭印月回。何必归寻张翰鲈，鱼美风味说西湖；亏君有此调和手，识得当年宋嫂无。" The last sentence of this poetry is the record of the legend of "West Lake Fish in Vinegar Gravy" above.
