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2–3
as a main course .Easy
Published 1982
In China, the presentation of a whole fish—either steamed or deep-fried as here—traditionally concludes the meal on a bountiful note. “Here is fish” is the homonym for “here is abundance,” so everyone leaves the table feeling full of fish and symbolic richness. It is much like ending a meal with a cornucopia of fruit, our own Western emblem of plenty.