Also Chou gui yu, Huizhou stinky fish, Fermented mandarin fish
A whole mandarin fish, lightly salted and left for days until it smells, then fried and braised with pork, bamboo shoots and chilli.
What makes it stinky mandarin fish
Mandarin fish, salted and weighted for several days until it ferments and smells.
Flesh that separates into firm, bouncy flakes.
Fried, then braised dark with fatty pork, bamboo shoots, soy and chilli.
Where it comes from
The story is that fishmongers carried mandarin fish from the Yangtze up into the Huizhou hills in barrels, salting them against the heat; by the time they arrived the fish smelled, but cooked, they were better than fresh. Whether or not it happened that way, the dish became Huizhou's most famous.
The few days in brine ferment the fish a little: the smell is strong, but the flesh turns firm and comes away in big, clean flakes, which is the point.