Spicy Crispy Fish Pieces
A Chinese recipe for Spicy Fish Chunks made with bone-in grass carp.
Ingredients
grass carp bones and meat
430 g
Instructions
1
Step 1
Take one grass carp, remove the fish bones, and fillet it into two halves (only use the fish bones and one half of the grass carp). Cut the fish bones into large chunks and the fish meat into strips about 1 cm wide.
2
Step 2
Place the fish bones and fish meat in a bowl. Add one tbsp of cooking wine, one tbsp of low-sodium light soy sauce, 2 g of salt, and 2 g of sugar, then stir well.
3
Step 3
Add a section of scallion cut into horse-hoof chunks, 3 slices of ginger cut into strips, and 1 red chili cut into strips. Mix by hand until the fish meat becomes sticky, then marinate for half an hour.
4
Step 4
After half an hour, pick out the scallion sections, ginger slices, and chili strips.
5
Step 5
Pour off the excess water from the fish meat. Add one tbsp of cornstarch and mix well.
6
Step 6
Prepare a handful of fragrant chili peppers and half a handful of spicy chili peppers, one tbsp of Sichuan peppercorns, and half a tbsp of prickly ash. Adjust the amounts to your personal spice tolerance. Pour 50 ml of cold water over the spices and soak for two minutes.
7
Step 7
Drain the spices. Cut 3 scallions into 1-inch sections, 3 slices of ginger into strips, and 3 cloves of garlic into slices.
8
Step 8
Before frying, sprinkle cornstarch over the fish pieces and toss quickly to coat evenly.
9
Step 9
Heat 400 g of oil in a wok. When the oil reaches medium-hot (about 150°C), add the fish pieces in batches and fry.
10
Step 10
Do not move the fish pieces when they first go in. Wait until they turn slightly golden, then remove them.
11
Step 11
Reheat the oil, then add the fish pieces back and fry until the outside is golden and crispy. Remove.
12
Step 12
Pour out the oil, wash the wok, and add about 25–30 g of fresh oil.
13
Step 13
Add the drained chilies and peppercorns and stir-fry over low heat until fragrant and the chilies are dried out.
14
Step 14
Add the ginger strips.
15
Step 15
Add the garlic slices.
16
Step 16
Add the fish pieces and stir-fry quickly. Add 2 g of Sichuan pepper-salt powder.
17
Step 17
Finally add the scallion sections, stir-fry briefly, and serve.
18
Step 18
Numbing-spicy and savory, with a crispy exterior and tender fish inside. Delicious and perfect with rice.
