Sweet and sour crispy fish
A classic Sichuan dish with an elegant fish-shaped presentation, golden color, crispy exterior and tender interior, finished with a signature sweet-and-sour flavor.
Ingredients
Fresh carp (scaled, gills removed, gutted)
1 tail, approx. 750 g (1 jin 5 liang)
vegetable oil
1500 g, uses 125 g (3 jin, 2 liang 5 qian)
lard
30 g (6 qian)
sesame oil
15 g (3 qian)
scallion
50 g (1 liang)
ginger
15 g (3 qian)
garlic
10 g (2 qian)
pickled red chili (seeded, cut into fine strips)
2 pieces
sugar
75 g (1 liang 5 qian)
Shaoxing wine
10 g (2 qian)
soy sauce
25 g (5 qian)
vinegar
30 g (6 qian)
cornstarch slurry
250 g (5 liang)
salt
1 g (2 fen)
soup
400 g (8 liang)
Instructions
1
Prepare and marinate fish
Scale the carp, remove gills, gut and clean with water; pat dry with a clean cloth; make 3 cuts 1 cm deep (about 3 fen) on each side; then cut 6-7 diagonal cuts about 2 cm deep (about 7 fen) equally spaced; place 5 g (1 qian) Shaoxing wine, 5 g (1 qian) soy sauce, and salt in a bowl, marinate the fish for 5 minutes, then pat dry and set aside.
2
Prepare ingredients
Cut scallions and shredded scallions in half; mince ginger and garlic; remove seeds from pickled chili and cut into fine strips.
3
Make sauce
In a bowl, combine 20 g (4 qian) soy sauce, 10 g (2 qian) sesame oil, 100 g (2 liang) cornstarch slurry, 5 g (1 qian) Shaoxing wine, sugar, vinegar, and soup to make sauce.
4
Deep-fry fish
Place wok on high heat, add vegetable oil; coat remaining cornstarch slurry evenly on fish; when oil is 80% hot, hold fish by tail, lower head first, fry until deep golden, remove to plate, pat lightly to flake.
5
Sauce and plating
Pour out most oil from wok, leave 50 g (1 liang); add lard, scallion, garlic, ginger; stir-fry; add sauce, stir, thicken to a light consistency; add 5 g (1 qian) sesame oil, mix, drizzle over fish, garnish with shredded scallion and pickled chili strips, serve.
