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Braised Fish Recipe

  • WARNING If you have never used a cleaver to chop meat, this menu is not recommended!

  • During the process, the sharp cleaver may cut your fingers, so please be very careful.

  • This recipe represents a general method for braised fish. Ingredients are divided into essential and optional~

Estimated Cooking Difficulty: ★★★★

Essential Ingredients and Tools

  • Ginger, garlic cloves, dried chili peppers
  • Oil, salt, cooking wine, vinegar, soy sauce, white sugar
  • Fish

Optional Additional Ingredients

Note that these ingredients are based on experience. Adding too much of anything except cilantro is not a good idea.

  • Oyster sauce
  • Scallions (green onions)
  • Cilantro
  • Fresh chili peppers
  • MSG (or chicken essence)

Measurements

  • Fish: Beginners are advised to start with one medium-sized crucian carp. Score the fish in advance to help it cook evenly (otherwise, the back of the fish may remain undercooked).
  • Ginger: Cut 2-3 slices of regular mature ginger, then julienne them.
  • Garlic cloves: 3-4 cloves, crushed, minced, or sliced.
  • Dried chili peppers (according to personal taste): 2-3 pieces, minced.
  • Cilantro: According to personal taste.
  • Salt: 10g. If the chili peppers are very spicy, consider adding a bit more.
  • Vinegar: 5ml
  • Soy sauce: 5ml
  • White sugar: 10g
  • Scallions: 1-2 stalks. Normally, just sprinkle chopped scallions.
  • Fresh chili peppers: 1-2 pieces. You can omit them, but from experience, do not exceed 2, or the spiciness will be overwhelming.
  • MSG: According to personal taste. Do not add too much; 5g is sufficient.
  • Oyster sauce: 5g is sufficient, same principle as MSG.

Procedure

Preparation of Raw Materials

  • Prepare ginger and garlic, and mince them.
  • Mince the dried chili peppers and combine them with the ginger and garlic.

Final Steps

  • Add 30-50ml of oil and wait for the pan to heat up...
  • Add the dried fish (to avoid splashing hot oil on yourself), then shake the pan to fry the fish in hot oil. Note that this step must be done over low heat.
  • Flip the fish and repeat the frying process.
  • Add ginger, garlic, and chili peppers, and stir-fry until fragrant.
  • Pour in the cooking wine (add a bit more). Be careful during this step as it will produce a lot of smoke.
  • Pour in the vinegar (add more if you like it sour).
  • Then add white sugar and soy sauce (dark soy sauce).
  • Add cold water, just enough to cover the fish. Turn the heat to medium, cover the lid, flip the fish after about 1 minute, and continue covering the lid.
  • After 3-4 minutes, add salt, fresh chili peppers, and oyster sauce (MSG, chicken essence, etc.). Continue covering the lid and flipping the fish later.
  • When the sauce reduces to just below the fin on the fish's spine (or when there is not much sauce left), turn the heat to low, add cilantro and chopped scallions, cover the lid for 20 seconds, and turn off the heat.
  • Serve.

Additional Content

If you follow this guide's process and find issues or have suggestions for improvement, please submit an Issue or Pull request.