Steamed Mandarin Fish with Clear Broth
A classic steamed fish of Shandong cuisine: the mandarin fish is scored and steamed, then finished with a savory-sweet, mildly spicy sauce, yielding tender, well-flavored flesh.
Ingredients
Fresh mandarin fish (scaled, gutted, and washed)
1000g
Ham (cut into thin strips)
50g
Soaked bamboo shoot slices (cut into thin strips)
25g
Rehydrated shiitake mushrooms (cut into thin strips)
50g
Shaoxing wine
20g
Fine salt
4g
White pepper powder
5g
Wet cornstarch
65g
Soy sauce
10g
Clear broth
150g
Peanut oil (for stir-frying the sauce)
100g
Scallion (julienned)
10g
Ginger (julienned)
10g
Sugar
20g
Instructions
1
Initial Preparation
Scale and gut the mandarin fish, wash clean; blanch briefly in boiling water, then scrape off the dark skin and rinse.
2
Scoring
On one side, make angled cuts every 2 cm (without cutting through the backbone) to form tile-shaped blocks; on the other side, score diamond-shaped pieces about 2.5 cm on each side.
3
Julienning
Cut the ham, bamboo shoots, and shiitake mushrooms into thin strips.
4
Preparing the Sauce
Combine the Shaoxing wine, fine salt, white pepper, wet cornstarch, soy sauce, and clear broth in a bowl; stir into a slurry.
5
Blanching the Fish
Blanch the fish briefly again in boiling water so the scored pieces curl up; place in a large platter and rub fine salt over the surface to marinate briefly.
6
Steaming the Fish
Steam over rapidly boiling water in a steamer over high heat for 10 minutes, then remove and transfer the fish to another serving plate.
7
Pouring the Sauce
Heat the peanut oil in a wok over medium heat until it reaches about 60% hot (approximately 150°C); add the scallion and ginger strips and fry until fragrant, then add the sugar, ham strips, bamboo shoot strips, and shiitake strips. Pour in the prepared slurry, bring to a boil, and pour over the fish. Serve immediately.
