you silly fish head

That's half a fish head. Fish monger? Catfish? We waited a long time for this dish - the most popular one at Hunan Restaurant.

Hunan cuisine is smothered in oil. Why? I didn't think to ask Chin Chuan that night, but my aunt knew why.

She said that a long time ago, men in China attended schools far from their hometowns. The women in Hunan would have to travel long distances to bring food to their husbands. In the winter, pouring a generous layer of scalding hot oil over a dish (soups, noodles, etc.) would keep the food from going cold. With all that oil, did the men ever make it home to their wives?

Our food was very, very hot. Not for the faint of heart.