Creamy Mandarin Fish

Name: Creamy Mandarin Fish
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 45 min
Ingredients: 1000 g Mandarin fish (scaled, gills removed, gutted, rinsed, and fin tips trimmed); 50 g Salted bamboo shoot tips; 65 g Dried mushrooms; 100 g Ham; 30 g Dry flour (for coating both sides of the fish); 250 g Rendered pork lard (for frying the fish); 10 g Scallion; 15 g Ginger; 250 g Milk broth; 5 g Sichuan peppercorns; 20 g Shaoxing wine; 20 g Star anise; 3 g Fine salt; 10 g Chicken fat (added at the end)

A classic soup dish from Shandong cuisine. Mandarin fish is fried and then simmered in a milk broth until tender, producing a creamy white soup. The delicate fish is paired with shiitake mushrooms, ham, and bamboo shoots for added flavor.

45 min

Medium

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Ingredients

Mandarin fish (scaled, gills removed, gutted, rinsed, and fin tips trimmed) 1000 g

Salted bamboo shoot tips 50 g

Dried mushrooms 65 g

Ham 100 g

Dry flour (for coating both sides of the fish) 30 g

Rendered pork lard (for frying the fish) 250 g

Scallion 10 g

Ginger 15 g

Milk broth 250 g

Sichuan peppercorns 5 g

Shaoxing wine 20 g

Star anise 20 g

Fine salt 3 g

Chicken fat (added at the end) 10 g

Instructions

Initial preparation

Scale the mandarin fish, remove the gills, gut it, rinse thoroughly, and trim off the fin tips with a knife.

Blanching the fish

Place the fish in a pot of water that is just below a full boil and scald briefly, turning so both sides are evenly treated. Then transfer the fish to cold water, gently scrape off the black skin, rinse clean, and drain well.

Scoring the fish

Chop open the lower jawbone of the fish. Lay it on a cutting board with the head pointing left and the belly facing outward. Make diagonal cuts about 2 cm wide along the body, then turn it over and score the other side in a diamond pattern.

Coating with flour

Dust both sides of the fish evenly with the dry flour.

Frying the fish

Set a wok over medium heat, add the rendered pork lard, and heat to about 60% hot (approximately 132 °C / 270 °F). Carefully lower in the fish and fry until it is about 60% cooked through.

Braising the fish

Add the scallion and ginger and fry until golden. Pour in the milk broth, Sichuan peppercorns, Shaoxing wine, star anise, and fine salt, then add the fried fish. Bring to a rolling boil and cook for 10 minutes. When done, fish out and discard the scallion, ginger, peppercorns, and star anise.

Plating

Transfer the fish to a large serving plate, pour over the remaining milk broth and the chicken fat, and arrange the mushrooms, ham, and bamboo shoot tips around it to finish.