Smoked River Eel
A classic Fujian specialty made by smoking river eel. The finished dish has a deep purple-red color, with tender, fresh, and richly glazed meat.
Ingredients
Freshwater eel, cleaned (split along the backbone, remove the central spine)
650g
Green bean sprouts (blanched in boiling water)
150g
Cilantro (cleaned and picked over)
50g
Minced scallion
5g
Minced ginger
0.5g
MSG (monosodium glutamate)
2.5g
Sesame oil
4.5g
Shaoxing wine
15g
Sugar
20g
Refined salt
2g
White pepper
0.5g
Superior stock
100g
Soy sauce
20g
Instructions
1
Cutting and marinating
Split the eel along the backbone, remove the central spine and set aside. Score the flesh of the eel in a diagonal crosshatch pattern from head to tail. Mix 10g soy sauce, 10g sugar, 12g Shaoxing wine, white pepper, 1g MSG, minced scallion, and minced ginger into a marinade, rub evenly over the eel, and marinate for 30 minutes.
2
Cooking bone broth
Cut the reserved eel backbone into sections, place in a pot with the superior stock, 10g soy sauce, 10g sugar, and 0.5g sesame oil, and simmer for 10 minutes. Strain out the bones and reserve the broth in a small bowl.
3
Grilling
Heat an iron grate over an electric burner until it reaches about 70% heat. Place the marinated eel on the grate to cook. Maintain the heat at 70°C. After grilling for about 5 minutes, brush the eel with the bone broth, grill for another 5 minutes, then brush again. Repeat this process 3 times over a total of 20 minutes until cooked. Remove, brush with 1g sesame oil, cut into 12 pieces, and arrange on a plate.
4
Plating accompaniments
Blanch the green bean sprouts in boiling water, then remove. Toss with refined salt, 1.5g MSG, 3g Shaoxing wine, and 3g sesame oil. Arrange the seasoned sprouts and the cleaned cilantro on either side of the eel. Serve.
