
5
"At the seafood stall called Chili Boiled Fish, live fish flopped in a tank while a friendly cashier with a lipstick-kiss tattoo carefully sealed a patterned bowl (I paid a five-dollar deposit) to keep it hot; when I unwrapped it the dish was scalding and irresistible, with silky fillets of fish, tender cabbage, chunks of cucumber, and Sichuan peppercorns clinging to everything and staining my rice with neon drips." - Hannah Goldfield