Fresh Fish with Chili Bean Paste

Name: Fresh Fish with Chili Bean Paste
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 1 kg Fresh fish (crucian carp preferred); 50 g Douban chili sauce; 800 g Vegetable oil (about 140 g actually used); 20 g Wet starch; 1 g Chili powder; a pinch White pepper powder; 420 g Pork bone broth; 15 g Sugar; 30 g Cooking wine; 3 g Salt; 8 g Vinegar; 10 g Soy sauce; 15 g Minced garlic; 6 g Minced scallion; 2 g MSG; to taste Minced ginger (original text did not specify an amount)

A Zhejiang-style fish dish featuring tender, silky flesh in a rich, reddish-brown sauce with a savory, spicy, sour, and sweet flavor profile.

30 min

Easy

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Ingredients

Fresh fish (crucian carp preferred) 1 kg

Douban chili sauce 50 g

Vegetable oil (about 140 g actually used) 800 g

Wet starch 20 g

Chili powder 1 g

White pepper powder a pinch

Pork bone broth 420 g

Sugar 15 g

Cooking wine 30 g

Salt 3 g

Vinegar 8 g

Soy sauce 10 g

Minced garlic 15 g

Minced scallion 6 g

MSG 2 g

Minced ginger (original text did not specify an amount) to taste

Instructions

Prepare the fish

Scale the fresh crucian carp and remove the gills, open the belly to take out the innards, then wash it clean. Score both sides of the fish in a ladder-pattern crosshatch, making a cut every 1–2 cm.

Deep-fry the fish

Pour the vegetable oil into a wok and heat it to 70–80% hot over high heat. Add the fish and fry for about 1 minute until both sides turn golden yellow, then remove and drain off the oil.

Stir-fry the sauce

Leave about 70–80 g of oil in the wok and heat it over high fire until slightly warm. Add the douban chili sauce and chili powder and stir-fry for a few moments.

Braise the fish

When the oil turns red, add the minced ginger, pork bone broth, sugar, cooking wine, white pepper, salt, minced garlic, and soy sauce, and stir well. Then add the fried fish. Once the broth comes to a boil, move to low heat and simmer for 7–8 minutes (flipping the fish once in between). Then lift the fish out and place it on a plate.

Thicken the sauce and pour over

Mix the wet starch with a little water to make a thin slurry and stir it in to thicken the sauce. Add the minced scallion, vinegar, and MSG, stir to combine, then pour the sauce over the fish. Serve immediately.