With no food for emperor, a dish is born

China's Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces are known for their freshwater fish, thanks to the many lakes and rivers that weave through the region, including Suzhou, known as 'the Venice of the East'. One of the area's most well-known dishes is the curiously named squirrelfish.

It is said that Emperor Qianlong once visited Suzhou during his reign (1735-96). He arrived in the city at an odd hour but was hungry and stepped into a restaurant. The chef was unfortunately out of food, but he feared that telling the emperor that would anger him and lead to serious consequences (such as a beheading). Looking around in desperation, the chef noticed a carp on the restaurant's altar that was being used as an offering to the gods. He took it and cooked it for the emperor.

Afraid that he would infuriate the gods, however, the chef endeavoured to make the fish look as alive as possible, and hence deep-fried it into an arched shape to emulate a live, flipping fish. He also sliced the flesh into strips to enhance the effect.

When the fish was presented to the emperor, he was greatly amused and remarked that it looked like a squirrel with its fur standing on end. When the sauce was poured over it, the fried batter even gave off slight squealing sounds, giving the dish its name.

In one of the Qing dynasty's foremost culinary tomes, Tiaodingji, the recipe for squirrelfish calls not for carp but for a Chinese perch (also known as a Mandarin fish, though not to be confused with the brightly coloured saltwater Mandarin fish from the Pacific) to be fried in an egg yolk batter, finished off in a sauce of soy sauce and oil.

However, the modern-day interpretation involves ingredients that aren't native to Jiangsu province - a flour-based batter and a sweet and sour sauce that includes tomatoes, or even ketchup. The version from Shanghai Garden even incorporates pine nuts for extra crunch.