Stir-fried Dagger Fish Shreds
A traditional Jiangsu spring dish featuring pristine white fish shreds paired with a trio of shredded vegetables for a colorful presentation; tender and silky in texture.
Ingredients
Dagger fish (cleaned, filleted from both sides, deboned and scraped into a paste)
300g
Soaked dried mushrooms (cut into shreds)
10g
Green leafy vegetables (cut into shreds)
100g
Egg white
20g
Ham (cut into shreds)
15g
Shaoxing wine
20g
Scallion-ginger juice
10g
Refined salt
2g
Water starch
15g
Gourmet powder (MSG)
1.5g
Lard (heated to about 30% hot, approximately 66°C)
500g (100g oil actually used)
Chicken broth (used in cooking)
To taste
Instructions
1
Preparing the fish
Clean the dagger fish and fillet off the flesh from both sides. Place the fillets skin-side down on a cutting board and gently pound the flesh with the back of a knife so that the small bones adhere to the skin. Then scrape off the flesh and lightly chop it into a paste. Add Shaoxing wine, scallion-ginger juice, refined salt, egg white, and water starch, and mix in one direction until the mixture becomes sticky and cohesive. Transfer the mixture into a funnel made from kraft paper.
2
Extruding fish shreds
Heat a wok over the flame and add the lard. When the oil reaches about 30% hot (approximately 66°C), slowly squeeze the fish paste through the small opening of the funnel directly into the oil. Once the shreds are cooked through, remove them and cut into 4 cm long segments.
3
Stir-frying and finishing
Cut the garnishes (mushrooms, green leafy vegetables, and ham) into shreds. Stir-fry them briefly in the original wok, then add Shaoxing wine, refined salt, scallion-ginger juice, chicken broth, and gourmet powder. Add the fish shreds, shake the wok to combine, thicken with water starch, drizzle with rendered lard, flip to coat, and transfer to a plate to serve.
