Purse-Style Stuffed Carp
A traditional specialty from Chaozhou: a whole carp is deboned and stuffed with a seasoned meat filling, deep-fried until golden, then braised together with pork belly. The finished dish has a rich amber hue and tender, succulent flesh.
Ingredients
Carp (cleaned, butterflied, and deboned)
1 (1200 g)
Caul fat
200 g
Dried shrimp (diced)
to taste
Dried flatfish (diced)
25 g
Winter bamboo shoots (diced)
50 g
Soaked shiitake mushrooms (diced)
100 g
Pork belly (sliced for wrapping)
400 g
Lean pork (diced)
300 g
MSG
to taste
Soy sauce
to taste
Arrowroot starch (wet arrowroot slurry)
to taste
Superior stock
to taste
Instructions
1
Step 1
Clean the carp, butterfly it open along the back, remove the innards, and carefully take out the backbone and rib bones.
2
Step 2
Stir-fry the diced dried flatfish until fragrant, transfer to a bowl, add the diced lean pork, diced shiitake mushrooms, diced bamboo shoots, MSG, and fine salt, and mix well. Stuff this mixture into the fish cavity, then spread a thin layer of wet arrowroot slurry over the back of the fish.
3
Step 3
Heat oil in a wok and deep-fry the fish until golden brown, then remove. In the same oil, briefly fry the pork belly slices, wrap the fish in the caul fat, and return everything to the wok to braise together until the fish is fully cooked. Lift out the fish, discard the caul fat, and plate the fish. Add MSG to the original cooking liquid, thicken with wet arrowroot slurry, and pour the sauce over the fish before serving.
