Fish-Flavored Shredded Pork is a famous Sichuan dish. You can order this dish in most restaurants in China, so you can see how popular this dish is. There is also a story about it.

Legend has it that long ago there was a family in Sichuan who loved eating fish. They were very particular about cooking fish and they would prepare it with green onion, ginger, garlic, wine, vinegar and sauce to get rid of the smell of fish while enhancing its taste. One night, the mother of the family put the leftover seasonings she had just used for cooking fish into another dish she was cooking with to avoid wasting the seasonings. When she finished, she felt a bit guilty, as she did not know whether or not the dish would be edible or how to explain this to her husband. As she was considering these things, her husband came back and began to eat the food on the table, not giving her a chance to explain. She didn’t know whether this was because her husband was tired or because he felt the dish was special. To her surprise, her husband praised her cooking, saying that it was delicious. Later, her recipe (especially its seasonings) were spread and favored among the people. Since the dish was created with the seasonings used for cooking fish and they do have fish flavor, people classified them as a fish-flavor dish. Thus, a special flavor dish was produced.