Clay-Roasted Mandarin Fish

Name: Clay-Roasted Mandarin Fish
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 1 h 10 min
Ingredients: 1 (about 750 g) mandarin fish (split from the back, remove spinal bone and innards); 1 fresh lotus leaf (to wrap the fish); 1 kitchen twine (for tying); to taste wine-jar mud (crushed and kneaded into a mud paste with water); 75 g pork loin (cut into shreds and stir-fried); 75 g pork caul fat (to wrap the fish); 5 g scallion, julienned; 1 g ginger, julienned (part for marinating, part for stir-frying pork); 25 g rendered pork fat (for stir-frying the pork shreds); 0.1 g sand ginger (for marinating the fish); 2.5 g sugar (for stir-frying the pork shreds); 5 g soy sauce (for stir-frying the pork shreds); 2.5 g MSG (1 g for marinating, 0.5 g for stir-frying pork, 1 g reserved); 2 g fine salt (for marinating the fish); 50 g coarse salt (added to the mud paste for elasticity); 12 g Shaoxing wine (10 g for marinating, 2 g for stir-frying pork)

A traditional Zhejiang-style slow-baked Mandarin fish, prized for its fresh, fragrant flesh and tender, silky texture that preserves the fish's natural flavor.

1h 10m

Easy

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Ingredients

mandarin fish (split from the back, remove spinal bone and innards) 1 (about 750 g)

fresh lotus leaf (to wrap the fish) 1

kitchen twine (for tying) 1

wine-jar mud (crushed and kneaded into a mud paste with water) to taste

pork loin (cut into shreds and stir-fried) 75 g

pork caul fat (to wrap the fish) 75 g

scallion, julienned 5 g

ginger, julienned (part for marinating, part for stir-frying pork) 1 g

rendered pork fat (for stir-frying the pork shreds) 25 g

sand ginger (for marinating the fish) 0.1 g

sugar (for stir-frying the pork shreds) 2.5 g

soy sauce (for stir-frying the pork shreds) 5 g

MSG (1 g for marinating, 0.5 g for stir-frying pork, 1 g reserved) 2.5 g

fine salt (for marinating the fish) 2 g

coarse salt (added to the mud paste for elasticity) 50 g

Shaoxing wine (10 g for marinating, 2 g for stir-frying pork) 12 g

Instructions

Prepare the fish

Scale the mandarin fish and split it open from the back. Remove the spinal bone and innards. Wash and pat dry with a clean cloth. Rub 2 g fine salt, 1 g MSG, 10 g Shaoxing wine, ginger shreds, and sand ginger evenly across the inside of the fish. Marinate and set aside.

Stir-fry the pork shreds

Heat the rendered pork fat in a wok. When it reaches about 70% hot (approximately 154°C), add the pork shreds and stir to separate. Add the scallion shreds, 5 g soy sauce, 2 g Shaoxing wine, 0.5 g MSG, and 2.5 g sugar, and stir-fry the pork shreds until cooked through. Remove and place on a plate. Once cooled, stuff the pork into the belly of the mandarin fish.

Wrap

Wrap the mandarin fish in the pork caul fat (or thinly cut sheets of pork back fat). Then wrap the whole thing in a fresh lotus leaf (do not tear the leaf, to prevent the juices from leaking out). Tie tightly with kitchen twine.

Prepare the mud paste

Crush the wine-jar mud and knead it with water into a mud paste. Add 50 g coarse salt and mix well to increase the elasticity of the paste. Then spread the mud paste onto a cloth, forming a layer about 2 cm thick.

Slow-roast

Place the wrapped fish on the mud and coat it on all sides. Slow-roast over charcoal fire, flipping every 5 minutes, about 6 flips total, until cooked through.