豆瓣鱼片
I have fond memories of going to 巴山蜀水 (a Sichuan restaurant) all the time when I was younger. Each time I went, we'd always order this dish. It never failed to disappoint. And I'd down so much rice with the sauce that went with it. My recreation of the dish pales in comparison to the dish I had there, but it was still delicious and I'm happy with how this turned out. It's also surprisingly simple to make -- will definitely make again!
Active Time: 20 min
Total Time: 25 min
Ingredients
> whitefish filet (1.5 lbs)
> salt, white pepper powder, potato starch (~3 tbsp), neutral oil
> garlic (6-8 cloves)
> 豆瓣酱 (~3 tbsp)
> oyster sauce (~2 tbsp)
> sugar (~2 tbsp)
> soy sauce (~1 tbsp)
> chicken essence
> green onion
> cilantro
Instructions
1. Slice the whitefish filet at an angle into relatively thick pieces (about 1cm thick is good)
2. In a bowl with the whitefish slices, marinade with a bit of salt and white pepper powder. Stir well to combine.
3. Add potato starch and stir stir well to combine.
4. Then add a healthy glug of neutral oil, and stir well to combine. Set aside.
5. Prepare the sauce by mixing the 豆瓣酱, oyster sauce, sugar, soy sauce, and chicken essence together.
6. Finely mince the garlic.
7. In a wok over high heat and plenty of oil, fry the garlic until just before it starts to brown. Add the sauce, and fry for a minute or so.
8. Add maybe a half cup of water and bring it to a boil. Then add the whitefish filet. Cook covered, stirring occasionally. This should take a couple of minutes.
9. Serve onto a large bowl/plate, and garnish with some chopped green onion + cilantro. Enjoy!
Notes/Tips:
> Be very generous with the garlic. The intense garlic flavor is one of the key components that makes this dish so delicious.
> The ingredient amounts are totally arbitrary and honestly not that accurate. Feel free to adjust it to your personal preference.
> This isn't the most popular dish, so it's remarkably difficult to find a proper recipe for this dish not in Chinese. Most recipes incorporate some kind of other ingredient (e.g. tofu, vegetables, etc). Skip all that. This dish is best with just the fish and the sauce.
> Definitely serve with some rice on the side. The sauce makes you want to down the rice with it.