Braised Head and Belly Fish with Vinegar
A traditional Shaoxing-style dish made with bighead carp head and belly as the main ingredients, braised with sweet bean paste and rice vinegar. It has a glossy red color and a fresh, sweet-and-sour flavor.
Ingredients
Bighead carp (live, freshly killed, use head and belly portions)
2-3 kg
Bamboo shoots (cut into small rectangular pieces)
to taste
Cooked lard (for braising fish and drizzling starch slurry)
to taste
Shaoxing wine (for cooking fish)
to taste
Soy sauce
to taste
White sugar
to taste
Sweet bean paste
to taste
Vinegar (mixed evenly for starch slurry)
to taste
Wet starch (for thin starch slurry)
to taste
Minced scallion (sprinkled on fish)
to taste
Minced ginger (sprinkled on fish)
to taste
Ground white pepper (sprinkled on fish)
to taste
Broth or water
20 g
Instructions
1
Prep and Cut
Cut the fish into rectangular pieces 5 cm wide and 2 cm long, cut the bamboo shoots into small rectangular pieces.
2
Braise the Fish
Place a wok over high heat, add cooked lard, heat to 60% (medium-high), add fish pieces, flip a few times, pour in Shaoxing wine, add soy sauce, white sugar, sweet bean paste, bamboo shoot pieces and 20 g broth or water, cover and bring to a boil, then simmer for 5 minutes.
3
Thicken the Sauce
Mix vinegar and wet starch evenly to make a thin starch slurry, drizzle in cooked lard, swirl and flip the wok once.
4
Plate and Serve
Transfer the fish from the wok to a plate, sprinkle with minced scallion, minced ginger and ground white pepper, then serve.
