A literal translation of the Chinese name for this dish is "squirrel yellow fish," because after being cooked, the fish is in the shape of a squirrel.
唯黃魚肉質滑嫩而無細刺，且鮮美，尤其在台灣又四季可得，故一般菜館多採用黃魚來做。由於去骨後，在肉麵上切劃交叉刀紋，炸時皮縮肉卷，翻成花條而狀似松鼠，故以「松鼠」為名。