西湖醋鱼, photo 1 of 3
西湖醋鱼, photo 2 of 3
西湖醋鱼, photo 3 of 3
Typical photo

Photo credit

Photo
West Lake Fish in Vinegar Gravy
By
Zheng Zhou
Licence
CC BY-SA 4.0
Source
Wikimedia Commons
Changes
Cropped and resized

Photo credit

Photo
20260918 West Lake Fish in Vinegar Gravy of Zhi Wei Guan
By
Windmemories
Licence
CC BY-SA 4.0
Source
Wikimedia Commons
Changes
Cropped and resized

Photo credit

Photo
Fish on a plate in a restaurant in Hangzhou, China - December 2011
By
Rickard Törnblad
Licence
CC BY-SA 4.0
Source
Wikimedia Commons
Changes
Cropped and resized

西湖醋鱼

西湖醋魚
Xīhú cùyú
noun Not spicy

Measure Word

Meanings

  1. 1 West Lake sweet-and-sour fish
  2. 2 Hangzhou-style vinegar fish

About the dish

浙菜 Zhejiang · 热菜 Hot dish

A whole grass carp, split and briefly poached, covered in a glossy, sweet and sour sauce of vinegar, sugar and ginger. The flesh is soft and tender, with bones. A Hangzhou dish.

Usually contains fish

Examples

HSK 3
Dào Hángzhōu yídìng yào chángchang Xīhú cùyú.
When in Hangzhou you must try West Lake sweet-and-sour fish.
HSK 7-9
Zhè tiáo Xīhú cùyú zuò de qiàdàohǎochù.
This West Lake vinegar fish is prepared just right.

Tips

culture
The defining dish of 杭帮菜 (Hangzhou cuisine), classically made with grass carp from West Lake, poached and draped in a glossy sweet-vinegar sauce. The century-old lakeside restaurant 楼外楼 (Louwailou) is the most famous place to try it - the recipe is linked to a Song-dynasty legend about the widow Song and her brother-in-law.

Stroke Order

西 xī
湖 hú
醋 cù
鱼 yú