Fengcheng fish-skin dumplings are a handmade snack of Daliang in Shunde, and the craft is listed as Shunde district intangible cultural heritage. It is said to descend from a late Qing innovation on wontons by Daliang cooks, who replaced the flour wrapper with fish paste, hence "fish-skin" dumplings.[1]
Preparation
Mud carp, the smallest of the four main Guangdong pond fish, is filleted and the back flesh scraped repeatedly with a knife blade to collect the fine paste. Salted and beaten in one direction until sticky, the paste is mixed with wheat starch and cornstarch and rolled into thin wrappers. The filling is mainly pork and fresh shrimp sharpened with dried flounder powder and cloud ear mushroom; the dumplings are folded into half-moons and poached in a stock of pork bones, old chicken and dried flounder. They come out translucent and springy, and hold together through long cooking.[1][2]
Transmission
The craft passed down through Daliang noodle shops; its representative inheritor is Ou Jian'en.[1]
[1]: Shunde Chefs Association, “顺德非物质文化遗产《凤城鱼皮角》”. [2]: Sohu, “一碗入魂？传统手工菜真让人上头啊！”.