You should be aware that China and Chinese rivers are heavily polluted, and this is a fresh water fish, so you should not eat too much of this fish. There are probably pollutants in minute amounts. If you are concerned about contaminants, and you should be, you might consider the sardine with salted black beans (below) from Fujian, which is harvested from the sea and may have less pollution and contaminants.
Canned dace from China has periodically been found to carry traces of malachite green, a carcinogenic antimicrobial banned for use in food
The Can
The can used for fried dace is quite unique. It looks like all manufacturers of fried dace use the exact same form factor of can dimensions, design, and pull-top. The can is oval, 14.7cm long, 7.2cm wide and 4.5cm deep. Both long sides of the can have a vertical ribbing that I have not seen on other canned foods. The can is opened with a pull-top lever. All can labels have a picture of the dace fish on it, and most even use the same gold background with and red highlight striping. Each can is 184g in weight. As all the brands use the same form factor, they are all stackable. Even blind people can pick up a can of fried dace and know its contents.
I find it interesting that there is so much standardization of product and a clear lack of innovation and uniqueness of the can form factor. I wonder if many generations of Asians identify this fried dace simply from the can form factor. Usually products are regularly updated to keep the product selling and in the consumer’s mind’s eye.
How I use it
Fried dace is not something you eat every day. I occasionally open up a can and eat it with fresh white rice, like Jasmine. I usually warm up the dace from the heat of the fresh rice. Most of the residual oil I discard, though I am sure it has lots of flavour. This is a treat or I eat it when I have run out of time, food or both.
Pricing
All cans of fried dace seem to be quite expensive here in Toronto when compared to comparable canned fish such as sardines and mackerel. The regular price for a can of fried dace is roughly $4.50CAD, with the most famous “Gold Coin” brand being the most expensive. All brands very occasionally go on sale for around $2.50CAD per can. Even at this sale price this is near double the price of other canned fish. This expensive canned fish is available at every Chinese store that I’ve visited, and is available, though not all brands, at regular supermarkets in my area. I find that more new brands are coming to stores. Each brand offers a discount to $2.50 per can, but largely tastes the same as their competitors.
The Brands
These are the brands I can buy on sale in Toronto. As new brands arrive I will try them. So far they all taste good.
Eagle Coin 赢金 seems to be the most ubiquitous brand in all Chinese grocery stores. It is also the most expensive and rarely goes on sale. I found the fish to be slightly drier, with less oil in the can. The black beans are soft and tasty. Eagle coin only offers one flavour of their fried dace with black beans. Contains MSG. $2.80CAD sale price
Though it seems to be the most famous of brands, I was a bit disappointed with the fish, which was a bit dry. There was not enough oil to keep the fish moist. Further, this brand commands a higher price. This is the quintessential brand of fried dace I see most on the web.
The Yupin Brand 御品 comes in three flavours: fried dace no black beans. regular fried dace with salted black bean, fried dace with preserved vegetables. I’ve only bought the regular type. The fish is moister than the Eagle Coin, and it comes with a bit more oil. Otherwise taste is very comparable. This is the first type of fried dace with salted black beans I tried, and it was quite tasty. Contains MSG. $2.50CAD sale price
The Yue Feng brand 越丰 comes in three flavours: regular fried dace with salty black beans, spicy fried dace with salty black beans, and fried dace with vegetables. The spicy version has some physical chili peppers, but no discernible spicy flavouring. The oil content seems to be higher than the Yuepin, but then I opened a can with less oil. Otherwise the taste is the same. They give you a lot of black beans, which are savoury and taste great. MSG not on the ingredients. $2.50CAD sale price
The Coin Brand 金钱 fried dace with salted black bean has the exact same can form factor, and weight of 184g. The fish seems to be the most intact of all brands. There’s a lot of oil. It contains MSG $2.50CAD on sale
The Yu Jia Xiang brand 鱼家香 (Fragrant family fish) is also available here in Toronto. Same form factor. The can says it uses flavour enhancer E621, which is MSG. $2.50CAD on sale.
The Imposter
The Gulong brand 古龙 sardines with salted black beans uses the same can form factor as all the fried dace brands. The dimensions are exactly the same, as if they are from the same mold. The side ribbing is also exactly the same. This can is also stackable with the fried dace. The weight is 156g, 15% less than the fried dace, so you do get less fish.
Because the sardines are not fried, you can taste the difference between the sardine and the fried dace. If you don’t like your fish fried this may be an option for you. The fish is not as flavourful as the fried dace. The leftover oil is a cloudy brown and there is less of it, but it still has some umami flavour. If you dislike sardines drenched in tomato sauce and fish oil, this sardine with salted black beans is a great alternative because you get a cleaner fish without unknown additives. You probably get more fish value for your money. Contains MSG. This version is available at my local NoFrills grocery store. This canned fish is made in Fujian Province, Xiamen. $1.85CAD regular price
Leftover Oil from the Can
I have been saving the excess oil from these cans, as the oil is very flavourful. I use the oil to fry eggs. The oil adds umami flavour to the eggs, which I quite enjoy. The fried dace cans seem to have very clear oil, with just a small amount of the black bean colour. The leftover sardine oil is a cloudy brown and is less flavourful. Maybe the lack of frying allows the sardine to dissolve into the oil more, I don’t know.