Xizhou Fish
A traditional folk dish from Dali, Yunnan, featuring a bright, clear apricot-yellow broth, fresh aromatic flavor with a hint of spice, and tender, juicy fish flesh.
Ingredients
Live carp (descaled, gills and fins removed, gutted from the belly, cut into 8 pieces)
1
Fat and lean ham (cut into 1.3 cm long, 0.6 cm wide slices)
50 g
Garlic cloves
100 g
Rehydrated dried shiitake mushrooms (large ones cut smaller)
50 g
Ginger slices
30 g
Scallion segments
50 g
Star anise powder
2 g
Ground fennel
2 g
Fine salt
12 g
Salty soy sauce
50 g
MSG
1 g
Ground white pepper
1 g
Yellow wine (Shaoxing wine)
10 g
Chili oil
30 g
Superior stock
800 g
Rendered pork fat
70 g
Instructions
1
Marinate the fish pieces
Clean the live carp by removing scales, gills, and fins; gut it through a cut along the belly and chop it into 8 pieces. Place the fish pieces in a dish and mix with salty soy sauce, ground fennel, star anise powder, fine salt, and yellow wine. Marinate for half an hour. Slice the fat and lean ham into 1.3 cm long, 0.6 cm wide pieces. Cut any large rehydrated shiitake mushrooms into smaller pieces.
2
Cook the dish to completion
Set a wok over high heat and add the rendered pork fat. Once hot, lightly fry the garlic cloves first, then add the ginger slices, scallion segments, ham slices, and rehydrated shiitake mushrooms and stir-fry briefly. Pour in the superior stock, add the fish pieces together with their marinade juices, and bring to a boil. Move the wok to low heat and simmer for 10 to 20 minutes, keeping the liquid slightly reduced. Season with MSG and ground white pepper, then drizzle cooked oil over the dish before serving.
