The combination of spices and Sichuan peppercorn heat is perfectly balanced, incredibly aromatic! The fish is exceptionally tender!
There are countless schools of fish cookery, but the most famous are the six major styles: steamed, braised in soy sauce, numbing-and-spicy, dry-fried, slow-stewed, and raw. Among these, raw and numbing-and-spicy are the most renowned. Raw fish came from Japan, while the numbing-and-spicy style originated in Sichuan. The former is an exclusive, expensive delicacy for the elite; the latter is affordable and down-to-earth, making it especially beloved by the masses and popular throughout the land.
Ingredients
Main Ingredients
1000 g (about 2.2 lbs) Wujiang River fish (or any firm-fleshed white fish)
For the best results, choose fatty fish like river sturgeon, catfish, or long-snout catfish, which yield a rich flavor and tender texture when roasted; alternatively, use grass carp or common carp.
Additional Ingredients
Taro root and lotus root, to taste
Marinate the fish with: 2 tablespoons cooking wine, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon white pepper, 2 tablespoons sliced ginger, 2 tablespoons scallion segments, and 1 tablespoon Sichuan peppercorns, rubbing evenly over the fish and letting it sit for 20 minutes.
15 g (about 1 tablespoon) Chinese rice wine
3 g salt
20 Sichuan peppercorns
Pepper, scallion, and ginger, each to taste
Stir-fry the spicy aromatics: Heat oil in a wok over medium heat, add Sichuan peppercorns and dried chili peppers, and stir-fry until fragrant. Add ginger, garlic, and scallions, then stir in Pixian broad bean paste and fermented black beans, cooking until the oil turns red and aromatic.
50 g (about 1.75 oz) Sichuan Pixian broad bean paste
15 g dried Erjingtiao chilies (Sichuan mild-fruity dried chilies)
Sichuan peppercorns 10 g (about 1 tablespoon)
8 g (about 1/4 oz) Yongchuan fermented black beans
20 g (about 1.5 tablespoons) fermented rice wine
10 g rock sugar (about 2 teaspoons)
10 g (about 2 teaspoons) yellow rice wine
1 g salt
180 g (about 3/4 cup) oil
Scallions and ginger, as needed
Spice powder
See the "Homemade Sichuan Spicy Stir-Fry Spice Powder" recipe in this book.
Other Seasonings
30 g dried chili peppers
Scallions and ginger, each to taste
to taste cumin seeds
Instructions
Instructions
Preparation
Step 1: Split the Wujiang fish open from the back fin (Image 2), cutting through the bones to butterfly it completely, split the head as well, remove the innards and gills, and rinse clean (Image 3). Close the fish back up, make a few shallow slashes on both sides, rub evenly with the fish marinade, and let marinate for about 1 hour (Image 4).
*If you want to save time, ask the fishmonger to clean and gut the fish, then wash and marinate it once you get home.
Step 2: Cut dried chili peppers into small sections, remove the seeds, and soak them in warm water. Remove the seeds from dried Erjingtiao chili peppers, soak them in warm water until soft, then chop them together with Pixian broad bean paste until very fine. Cut scallions into sections, mince the ginger, cut asparagus lettuce into strips, slice the lotus root, and also cut a few scallion sections and ginger slices (Image 5).
To make the spicy stir-fry seasoning base
Pour oil into a wok and heat over medium heat until it reaches about 40% hot (around 140°C/285°F). Add the finely chopped Pixian broad bean paste and Erjingtiao chili peppers, then stir-fry slowly over low heat for 5 minutes until the oil turns red (Image 6). Keeping the heat low, add Yongchuan fermented black beans, fermented glutinous rice (jiuniang), rock sugar, yellow wine, scallion segments, and ginger slices, and stir-fry for another 5 minutes (Image 7). Next, add Sichuan peppercorns and salt, and stir-fry for 5 minutes. Finally, add the spice powder and stir-fry for 5 minutes, then turn off the heat (Image 8).
*For the stir-fried seasoning base, beef fat is the most aromatic; if convenient, you can buy a piece of beef fat and render some oil yourself to use for stir-frying the seasonings.
*The process of stir-frying the seasonings must strictly follow the order and timing, and you need to keep stirring constantly, otherwise it will burn at the bottom.
The stir-fried seasoning is arguably the most critical step in making grilled fish—get the seasoning right, and the final dish's flavor is guaranteed.
*Pixian broad bean paste is already salty, so use less salt.
When adding the spice powder, do so in small pinches—after each addition, stir and check if the aroma is strong enough; if not, add more. The amount of spice powder can be adjusted to personal taste. However, since ground spices are very potent, never add a large handful at once, or it will cloud the chili oil. Remember, stop once the flavor is right.
Grilled fish
④ Preheat the oven to 210°C (410°F) with both top and bottom heating elements for 10 minutes. Brush both sides of the marinated fish with oil, place it on a wire rack, and roast for about 20 minutes (Image 9) until the surface is golden brown (Image 10), then transfer to a large serving dish.
*Use a grill to cook the fish, not a baking pan, as a pan will trap juices and prevent the fish from developing a smoky, charred aroma.
*When grilling the fish on a rack, juices and oil will drip down, so it's best to line the tray underneath with aluminum foil to catch them.
*In the last 5 minutes of roasting the fish, you can add some cumin seeds to enhance the flavor.
*The size of the fish will affect the roasting time, so if you're unsure, simply pierce the fish with a toothpick—if it goes through easily, it's done.
*This dish requires good time management: start by roasting the fish, then use the 20-minute waiting time to prepare the sauce, so by the time the fish is done, the sauce will be ready too, making the next steps much easier.
Pour the sauce over the fish.
⑤ Blanch the lotus root and green asparagus in boiling water, or simply stir-fry them in oil, then place them next to the grilled fish.
Pour some of the red oil from the prepared spicy stir-fry mixture into a wok and heat over high heat (Image 11). Add the soaked dried chili segments and stir-fry over medium heat until fragrant and darkened in color. Then add the remaining spicy stir-fry mixture, along with scallion segments and minced ginger. Pour in a small amount of hot water and stir-fry over high heat for 30 seconds (Image 12). Finally, pour the spicy sauce directly over the roasted fish and vegetables. Serve immediately.
*When stir-frying soaked dried chilies in oil, they will naturally change from red to light yellow and then to brown—this is completely normal, so don't worry; once the chilies turn brown, they are ready to be removed from the pan.
