Ingredients
1250 g (about 2.75 lbs) live eel.
Seasonings
1000 g (about 2.2 lbs) soybean oil (125 g actual consumption), 35 g Shaoxing wine, 30 g sesame oil, 25 g scallions, 15 g ginger, 7.5 g Sichuan pepper-salt, 5 g each salt and ground white pepper.
Instructions
1. Finely chop the scallions and ginger, then soak them in water to make scallion-ginger juice; set aside. Clean the eel, remove the head and tail, debone the backbone, and rinse clean. Place the eel skin-side down on a cutting board and score the flesh in a crosshatch pattern, cutting deep enough to reach the skin but not through it. Cut into diamond-shaped pieces, place in a bowl, and mix with Shaoxing wine, salt, scallion-ginger juice, and white pepper. Marinate for 20 minutes, then coat the fish pieces evenly with dry potato starch.
2. Heat the wok over high heat, add soybean oil and heat until it reaches 70% hot (about 350°F/175°C), then add the eel and deep-fry until cooked through and curled into rolls; remove and drain. When the oil temperature rises to 80% hot (about 400°F/200°C), return the eel rolls and deep-fry again until the exterior is crispy and fragrant, then remove and drain the oil.
3. Return the wok to the heat, add sesame oil and heat until hot, then add scallions and fry until fragrant. Add the eel rolls, sprinkle with Sichuan pepper-salt, toss briefly, and plate. This dish is beautifully presented, with crispy, tender meat and a rich, aromatic pepper flavor.