Two brothers with the surname of Song used to make a living by fishing in West Lake. Finding the elder brother's wire to be very pretty, a despotic official named Zhao used a trick that led to the death of the elder brother. Then the official moved on to frame the younger brother, whose sister-in-law urged him to flee. Before the young man left home, she cooked him a fish from the lake, prepared with sugar and vinegar. She reminded him "not to forget the bitterness in life when life seems sweet." Eventually the young man became an official and forced the despotic official Zhao to pay for what he had done. Purely by coincidence, one day he had a fish dish with the same taste as the one his sister-in-law had once cooked for him. He was thus able to find his sister-in-law who had been living in disguise. Today, West Lake Sweet and Sour Fish remains a popular traditional dish in Hangzhou.

Source: cultural-china.com

Editor: Feng Hui