White Sauce Catfish
A traditional Shanghai specialty with a milky white color, tender fish, and a thick, velvety sauce.
Ingredients
catfish (scaled, gutted, cleaned)
1 (1250 g)
sugar
5 g
scallion knot
1
salt
3 g
ginger
2 slices
lard
150 g
bamboo shoots (peeled, cut into diamonds)
100 g
MSG
2 g
Shaoxing wine
30 g
Instructions
1
Prepare fish pieces
Scale the catfish, gut, remove internal organs and gills, rinse with clean water. Cut off the fish head at the fin, and cut off the tail at the anus. Split the middle section into two halves, each half cut into 4 small pieces; split the head into two halves, each half cut into 2 pieces; cut the tail vertically into 4 pieces. Blanch the fish pieces in boiling water briefly, remove, and rinse with clean water.
2
Prepare bamboo shoots
Peel the bamboo shoots, rinse with clean water, and cut into diamond-shaped pieces.
3
Braise
Heat a wok over high heat, add lard and heat to about 70-80% hot. Add scallion and ginger, stir-fry until fragrant, then remove. Add the catfish pieces and pan-fry briefly. Pour in Shaoxing wine, cover and simmer to remove fishy odor. Then add the bamboo shoot slices, add salt, sugar, and water (enough to cover the fish). Cover and bring to a boil, then simmer over low heat for about 15 minutes. Finally, turn to high heat to thicken the sauce, add MSG, and transfer to a serving dish.
