Ingredients
1 fresh carp (about 500 g / 1 lb), 30 g each of Tianjin preserved vegetables (dong cai), egg cake (steamed egg custard), and soaked dried bamboo shoots, 10 g each of soaked shiitake mushrooms and ham (or sausage), 50 g (about 1/4 cup) clear broth.
Seasonings
5 g chicken fat, 7 g each of soy sauce and sugar, 2 g salt, 1 g MSG, 10 g cooking wine, and 3 g each of shredded scallion and ginger.
Instructions
1. Scale the carp, remove the gills, gut it by slitting the belly, and wash clean. Briefly blanch it in boiling water, then scrape off the thin black skin from the body, pat dry, and make diagonal cuts on both sides every 2 cm (cut down to the bone).
2. Lift the fish by the tail and briefly blanch it in boiling water (to open the cuts in the flesh), then pat dry. Marinate briefly with salt and Shaoxing wine, then place on a plate. Cut the bamboo shoots, egg cake, and ham into 4.5 cm (about 1.8 inch) long shreds. Remove the stems from the shiitake mushrooms and cut into shreds. Arrange these four types of shreds along with the scallion and ginger shreds on the fish in alternating colors. Rinse the preserved Sichuan vegetable (tianjin preserved vegetable) in clean water and squeeze dry.
3. Evenly combine clear broth, soy sauce, sugar, cooking wine, MSG, preserved winter vegetables, and chicken fat in a small bowl, stirring to create a seasoned sauce. Place both the fish plate and the sauce bowl in a steamer and steam over high heat for 15 minutes. Remove the fish plate, drain off any liquid, and pour the steamed sauce evenly over the fish before serving. This dish features tender, delicate fish with a fresh, savory flavor that is light and not greasy.