Pan-Braised Sole Boxes
A Shandong classic: pan-fried flatfish stuffed with pork filling—tender, silky, and golden with a juicy finish.
Ingredients
Flatfish fillet (washed, sliced into pieces 2.5 cm long and 1.5 cm wide)
200 g
Ground pork (mix with 4 g salt and 1 g sesame oil to make filling)
100 g
Finely chopped scallion and ginger (for stir-frying)
8 g
Dry starch (for egg yolk batter, also for coating)
30 g
Egg yolks (mix with dry starch into yolk batter)
3
Clear broth (for braising)
75 g
Shaoxing wine (for cooking)
3 g
Salt (5 g total: 4 g for filling, 1 g for seasoning)
5 g
Cilantro segments (sprinkle before serving)
5 g
Sesame oil (2 g total: 1 g for filling, 1 g drizzled before serving)
2 g
Peanut oil (50 g for pan-frying, 25 g for braising)
75 g
Instructions
1
Make the Fish Boxes
Wash the flatfish fillets and slice them into pieces 2.5 cm long and 1.5 cm wide. Mix the ground pork with salt (4 g) and sesame oil (1 g) to make a filling. Sandwich the filling between two fish fillet slices to form a box shape. Mix the egg yolks with the dry starch to form a yolk batter and set aside.
2
Pan-Fry the Fish Boxes
Add the peanut oil (50 g) to a wok and heat over medium heat until it reaches about 50% hot. Coat the fish boxes evenly with the yolk batter, place them in the wok, and pan-fry both sides until golden. Remove and drain off the excess oil.
3
Braise the Fish Boxes
Add the remaining peanut oil (25 g) to the wok and heat over medium heat until it reaches about 50–60% hot. Stir-fry the scallion and ginger to release their aroma, splash in the Shaoxing wine, then add the clear broth and salt (1 g). Place the fish boxes in the wok, bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to low and simmer gently until tender and cooked through and the sauce has reduced to a thick glaze. Sprinkle with the cilantro segments, drizzle with the sesame oil, transfer to a plate, and serve.
