Salt-Cured Fresh Mandarin Fish
Fresh mandarin fish is lightly salted and fermented, then braised with sliced pork and bamboo shoots until richly flavored.
Ingredients
Fresh mandarin fish (about 750g)
1
Pork belly (sliced)
50 g
Cooked bamboo shoots (sliced)
50 g
Minced ginger
25 g
Minced green garlic
25 g
Soy sauce
50 g
Cooking wine
15 g
Sugar
10 g
Chicken broth
350 g
Rendered pork fat (uses about 75g)
750 g
Cornstarch slurry (diluted, for a light glaze)
10 g
Instructions
1
Step 1
Place the fresh mandarin fish into a wooden barrel, sprinkling a layer of light brine (5g salt to 500g water) over each layer of fish. Once the barrel is full, cover it tightly. Turn the fish over once a day, keep at 25°C, and leave for about seven days. Then remove the scales and gills, slit open the belly, and take out the innards.
2
Step 2
Rinse thoroughly with clean water, score several diagonal crosshatch cuts on both sides of the fish, and air-dry in a breezy spot.
3
Step 3
Cut the pork and bamboo shoots into slices, and cut the green garlic into 2 cm-long segments.
4
Step 4
Place a wok over high heat and add the rendered pork fat. When the oil reaches about 70% hot, lower the fish in and fry for 1 minute, then flip. Once both sides turn pale golden, pour the fish into a strainer to drain off the oil.
5
Step 5
Leave a little oil in the wok, stir-fry the pork slices and bamboo shoot slices, then place the fish back in. Add the soy sauce, cooking wine, sugar, minced ginger, and chicken broth. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to a gentle simmer and cook for about 30 minutes. When the sauce is nearly reduced, sprinkle in the green garlic, drizzle in the diluted cornstarch slurry to give a light glaze, and finish with a small amount of rendered pork fat.
