水煮鱼片
I love the intense flavors and numbing spiciness of Sichuan food. This is one of my favorite dishes to eat as well as make. Ladling smoking hot oil over aromatics is super exciting. Cooking this dish is pretty involved, but definitely worth the effort.
Active Time: 35 min
Total Time: 35 min
Ingredients
> Fish, whole or filets
> Bean sprouts
> Ginger, garlic, green onion, cilantro
> Dried chili peppers, Sichuan peppercorns
> Egg white, neutral oil, 豆瓣酱
> Salt, white pepper powder, potato starch, 鸡精, 味精
Instructions
1. Prep: Thinly slice the fish. Transfer to a bowl, and rinse in water to remove blood and other impurities. Add salt, white pepper powder, egg white, and potato starch. Mix and coat thoroughly with your hands.
2. Prep: Finely chop garlic. Roughly chop ginger, green onion, and cilantro.
3. Heat oil in a wok over high heat. Fry the Sichuan peppercorns, dried chili peppers, and ginger. Add 豆瓣酱; stir and fry. Add water (not too much, just enough to cook the rest of the ingredients), and bring to a boil. Adjust for seasoning; add salt, 鸡精, and 味精 as necessary.
4. Once boiling, remove all the aromatics/spices. Blanch the bean sprouts until fully cooked, around 3-4 minutes. Remove and set at the bottom of a large serving bowl.
5. Add sliced fish, ensuring that no pieces stick. Cook for a few minutes until fully cooked, and pour fish/liquid into serving bowl.
6. In the meantime, heat oil over high heat until slightly smoking. Arrange green onion, garlic, and more chili peppers on top of the serving bowl. Slowly ladle hot oil over the dish. Top with cilantro. Serve and enjoy!
Notes/Tips:
> Traditional recipes will typically call for more Sichuan peppercorns in the last step. I don't like my dishes excessively numbing, and I don't like random Sichuan peppercorns floating around, so I eliminate this step. You can always add some 花椒油 if necessary.
> Many Chinese supermarkets will have spice packets that also contain 豆瓣酱. Those packets are typically pretty large, so I'd recommend using maybe half for one dish. (adjust accordingly)
> Admittedly, this will seem like a lot of oil. But rest assured that you probably won't consume most of it. It is absolutely necessary for the amazing flavor of this dish!