Double Swallows Greeting Spring
Trim the herring into swallow shapes, marinate, dredge in flour, and deep-fry. Drizzle with tomato sauce and garnish the plate edges to finish.
Ingredients
black carp (cleaned, head removed, butterflied into two fillets with tail attached, shaped into swallow blanks)
2
cucumber (for plating garnish)
to taste
egg floss
to taste
dry starch (for dusting)
to taste
tomato ketchup (for sauce)
to taste
salt (for marinating)
to taste
sugar
to taste
scallion
to taste
ginger
to taste
cooking wine (for marinating)
to taste
wet starch
to taste
Instructions
1
Cutting and Shaping
Clean the black carp and remove the head. Slice along the back, keeping close to the bone toward the tail, to open the fish into two fillets (with the tail attached). Score the surface in a decorative crosshatch and trim into swallow-shaped blanks. Cut two additional pieces of fish flesh and score them decoratively to form the swallows' wings.
2
Marinating and Frying
Marinate and season the fish blanks, dust with dry starch, and deep-fry in hot oil until set. Once the oil temperature rises, refry briefly, then arrange on a serving plate.
3
Seasoning and Plating
Pour the tomato sauce over the fish and garnish the plate edges to resemble willow branches and a bird's nest.
