Hui Guo Yu (Twice-Cooked Fish)
Glossy red in color, with tender, fragrant fish slices that are rich yet not greasy. Savory, umami, mildly spicy, fresh, and aromatic.
Ingredients
Grass carp (fillet, deboned and cut into large thick slices)
to taste
Pixian doubanjiang (finely chopped)
to taste
Douchi (finely chopped)
to taste
Sweet bean paste
to taste
Soy sauce
to taste
Cooking wine
to taste
MSG
to taste
Egg
to taste
Bean starch
to taste
Garlic sprouts (cut into segments)
to taste
Salt
to taste
Cooking oil
to taste
Sugar
to taste
Instructions
1
Prepare the aromatics
Finely chop the Pixian doubanjiang and douchi separately and set aside; cut the garlic sprouts into segments.
2
Prepare the fish
Clean the grass carp, remove the flesh from the bones and cut into large thick slices, then season with cooking wine and salt and set aside.
3
Make the egg-and-starch batter
Mix the egg and bean starch into a batter.
4
Fry and stir-fry the fish
Heat cooking oil in a wok. When it reaches about 70% hot, place the fish slices coated in the egg-starch batter into the oil and fry until they change color, then remove. Leave a little oil in the wok, add the doubanjiang and stir-fry until fragrant, then add the douchi, sweet bean paste, a small amount of broth, sugar and MSG. Add the fish slices and stir-fry until evenly colored, then add the garlic sprouts. When the oil glistens on the surface, transfer to a plate and shape as desired. Note: When frying the fish, the oil temperature must not be too high or the flesh will turn tough; if it is too low, the slices will not hold their shape. The finished shape should resemble a small oil lamp.
