Red Fermented Rice Fish Chunks
A classic Fujian dish of yellow croaker pieces marinated in red yeast rice, then deep-fried until crisp and red outside yet tender and white within, with a rich fermented aroma.
Ingredients
Fresh yellow croaker (washed, head and tail cut off, take 2 fillets of fish meat, remove backbone and skin, cut into 6×3×2 cm fish chunks)
1000 g
Red fermented rice (finely chopped on a cutting board, mixed with cooking wine, white sugar, minced scallion and ginger, five-spice powder)
25 g
Egg white (for making egg white batter)
1
Dry starch (for making egg white batter)
100 g
Sichuan pepper salt
10 g
White sugar
20 g
MSG
a pinch
Cooking wine (for sauce)
a pinch
Sesame oil (drizzled on finished dish)
a pinch
Five-spice powder (for sauce)
a pinch
Minced scallion and ginger (for sauce)
a pinch
Peanut oil (about 120 g used, for frying fish chunks)
1000 g
Instructions
1
Preparing the fish
Wash the fresh fish, cut off the head and tail, and set aside. Using a flat knife, slice from the back bone inward to remove 2 fillets of fish meat (remove the backbone), cut off the pectoral fin, remove the skin, and cut the fish into 6×3×2 cm chunks.
2
Preparing the red fermented rice sauce
Finely chop the red fermented rice on a cutting board and place in a large bowl. Add cooking wine, white sugar, minced scallion and ginger, and five-spice powder, then mix well.
3
Marinating
Mix the cut fish chunks with the prepared sauce until evenly coated and marinate for 15 minutes.
4
Coating with batter
Combine the egg white and dry starch to make an egg white batter, then coat the marinated fish chunks with it.
5
Frying
Place a wok on high heat, brush with oil, then add the peanut oil. When the oil reaches medium-hot, lower the battered fish chunks into the oil one by one. Once cooked through, remove, drain the oil, and arrange on a plate. Deep fry the fish head and tail until cooked, place them at both ends of the fish plate to form the shape of a whole fish, drizzle with sesame oil, and serve.
