Fishwife And Fly By Jing Are Joining Forces For One Spicy Tin

Forget skipjack in water: if tuna is the only canned fish you regularly purchase, then you've been missing out. Canned fish has been experiencing something of a renaissance in recent decades, starting, perhaps, with Gabrielle Hamilton, chef of the now-shuttered Prune restaurant in New York's East Village, who put a now-iconic dish on her opening menu in 1999: canned sardines served with Triscuit crackers (via PBS). Something of an homage to the excellent tinned fish varieties regularly enjoyed in European countries such as Portugal and Spain (per Serious Eats), the appetizer became an enduring favorite and no doubt helped kick off a renewed American interest in high-quality preserved fish. More recently, the COVID-19 pandemic also bumped up interest in — and sales of — accessible, affordable canned fish (via Toronto Star).

If you like tinned fish and have been aware of the aforementioned trend, then you're likely familiar with Fishwife, a woman-owned purveyor of sustainably sourced and beautifully packaged smoked rainbow trout, smoked albacore tuna, sardines in olive oil and preserved lemon, and smoked Atlantic salmon (via their official website) that's been conquering social media as well as best-of lists. In January, we named the brand our favorite among all the canned fish out there. And yesterday, Fishwife announced a highly anticipated collaboration with the equally adored Fly By Jing, a collection of flavor-packed sauces, seasonings, and dumplings founded by chef Jing Gao.

Yesterday, the foodie domain of social media was abuzz with some exciting news from two darlings of the food world. On their respective Instagram pages, tinned fish brand Fishwife and Chinese condiment brand Fly By Jing announced a collaboration that brings together two of the companies' flagship products: Fishwife's responsibly raised smoked salmon, and Fly By Jing's Sichuan Chili Crisp, an oily hot sauce packed with crispy bits of Sichuan chiles and peppercorns.

Packaged in Fishwife's distinctive, brightly colored illustrated boxes, the salmon is smoked in small batches before being brined in Fly By Jing's sauce, according to its product page. "An electrifying flavor experience that will have your tastebuds reeling in aquatic ecstasy" is how the brands describe the spicy salmon, with Fly By Jing's Instagram announcement recommending that the fish be enjoyed over a rice bowl, packed into a spicy salmon melt, or "straight out of the can like the animal you are." Smoked Salmon with Sichuan Chili Crisp is available for purchase through both Fly By Jing's and Fishwife's websites.