This fried dace recipe with stir-fried leafy vegetables makes use of a beloved Cantonese ingredient  that used to be known only to Chinese families, but recently went mainstream! (The New York Times/WireCutter included it on its list of The Best Tinned Fish.)  If you grew up with cans of Pearl River Bridge or Eagle Coin Fried Dace in Black Bean Sauce in the kitchen cabinet, you probably just cracked it open and ate it with leftover rice or porridge.This recipe isn’t much more difficult than that, but dolls it up and adds veggies for a complete, very tasty meal.  What is Fried Dace? Fried Dace is made from a small freshwater carp (Cirrhinus molitorella), known as dace or mud carp.The fish is native to Southern China and parts of Southeast Asia, and can be found in large river systems including the Pearl River and Mekong River.  The dace is cleaned and deep-fried until very crispy, and then soaked in soybean oil and salted fermented black soybeans.

The result is a texture that is very chewy, almost like fish jerky.As with anchovies and sardines, the soft bones are edible, contributing to the chewy texture!  Where Can I Buy Fried Dace? Fried dace comes in an oval-shaped can, and is available at almost any Chinese grocery store.You can also find it from online Asian grocery retailers like SayWeee.

These days, you can buy fried dace with or without fermented soybeans, as well as other flavor variations if you’re lucky enough to find them! Our fam

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