Sweet Bean Marinated Sole
A traditional Jiaodong-style dish: flatfish (sole) marinated in sweet bean paste and braised until glossy and richly aromatic.
Ingredients
Sole middle section (scales removed, black skin on the back cleaned, diagonal cuts scored on the spine, coated with sweet bean paste and marinated for flavor)
500 g
Peanut oil
100 g
Shaoxing wine
15 g
Sweet bean paste (for marinating the fish)
25 g
Fatty and lean pork shreds
50 g
Wet starch (for sauce thickening)
10 g
Scallion oil (to drizzle over the fish)
50 g
Vinegar
15 g
Soaked winter mushrooms (sliced into shreds)
25 g
Garlic (minced)
8 g
Soy sauce
50 g
Clear broth
300 g
Scallion (minced)
8 g
Instructions
1
Step 1
Scale the sole, remove scales, clean the black skin on its back, score diagonal cuts on the spine, coat with sweet bean paste and marinate to absorb flavor. Slice the winter mushrooms into shreds, mince the scallion, ginger, and garlic, and set aside.
2
Step 2
Add peanut oil to a wok, heat over medium heat to 60% heat, place the fish sections in the wok to pan-fry, and remove when both sides are golden brown.
3
Step 3
Leave 25g of oil in the wok, heat over medium heat to 60% heat, add the minced scallion, ginger, and garlic and stir-fry briefly. Add the fatty lean pork shreds and stir-fry, then add clear broth, vinegar, Shaoxing wine, soy sauce, and winter mushrooms, then add the fish sections to simmer together. When the sauce reduces to about 1/3 of its original volume, remove the fish and arrange it on a plate. Then use the wet starch to thicken the sauce remaining in the wok, drizzle in scallion oil and stir well, then pour the thickened sauce over the fish to serve.
