Double-Skin Hairtail
A traditional Jiangsu specialty: knife fish is deboned, the flesh minced into a paste, then reshaped and wrapped back into its original form before steaming. The finished dish retains the fish's complete shape with no bones to remove at the table.
Ingredients
Hairtail fish (scaled, gills and fins removed, gutted and deboned, skin reserved)
to taste
Cooked pork fat mince
to taste
Cooked ham slices
to taste
Diced cooked ham
to taste
Spring bamboo shoot slices
to taste
Soaked dried shiitake mushrooms
to taste
Egg white
to taste
Chopped cilantro
to taste
Shaoxing wine
to taste
Fine salt
to taste
MSG
to taste
Scallion knot
to taste
Ginger slices
to taste
Chicken broth
to taste
Water starch slurry (for thickening)
to taste
Rendered pork lard
to taste
Instructions
1
Prepare the hairtail
Scale the hairtail fish and remove the gills and fins. Make a horizontal cut behind the vent, insert a bamboo chopstick through the gill opening into the belly and twist to pull out the innards, then cut off the tip of the tail and wash the fish clean. Lay each fish flat and slice along both sides of the spine on the back, then remove the spine.
2
Extract the meat and make a paste
Lay the fish skin-side down on a cutting board. Gently pound the flesh with the back of a knife so that the fine bones stick to the skin, then dip the flat of the knife in water and scrape off the flesh from both sides. Mince into a fish paste and transfer to a bowl. Add the cooked pork fat mince, egg white, fine salt, MSG, Shaoxing wine, and an appropriate amount of water, then stir until well combined. Divide into four equal portions.
3
Wrap and shape
Spread the fish paste evenly over the flesh side of each piece of hairtail skin, then fold the other piece of skin over to restore the fish's original shape. Press some diced ham and chopped cilantro onto the seam and place the fish on a serving plate. Arrange the ham slices, bamboo shoot slices, and shiitake slices alternately over the fish, then add the scallion knot and ginger slices, along with Shaoxing wine and fine salt.
4
Steam
Steam over a pot until fully cooked, then remove. Discard the scallion knot and ginger slices, and drain off the cooking liquid.
5
Pour the sauce
Place a wok over high heat, add the chicken broth, MSG, and fine salt, and bring to a boil. Thicken with the water starch slurry, stir in the rendered pork lard, then pour the sauce over the fish. Serve immediately.
