Braised Whole Fish in Hot-and-Sour Sauce

Name: Braised Whole Fish in Hot-and-Sour Sauce
Yield: makes 4 servings
Ingredients: One 3- to 5-pound grouper, red snapper, carp, or sea bass, gilled, gutted, and scaled, head may be on or off; 1 cup fish or chicken stock, preferably homemade (page 161 or 160), or water; 4 fresh or dried shiitake (black) mushrooms; 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons peanut or neutral oil, like corn or grapeseed; Flour for dredging; Salt to taste; 1 large onion, sliced; 2 teaspoons minced garlic; 1 tablespoon peeled and minced or grated fresh ginger; 2 or 3 dried red chiles, stemmed, seeded, and minced, or 1 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes, or to taste; 1 tablespoon fermented black beans (page 207); 2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine or dry sherry; 2 tablespoons soy sauce; 1/4 cup rice or white wine vinegar; 2 teaspoons dark sesame oil; Minced scallion and chopped fresh cilantro leaves for garnish

December 14, 2011

It doesn’t take long, but this dish requires a fairly large pan. A long, narrow roasting pan will do in a pinch, especially if it’s nonstick. If you have trouble getting the fish to fit into your pan, by all means cut off its head and tail. Or try making this with smaller fish, in the 2- to 3-pound range. Then, when you feel you’ve gotten the hang of browning a whole fish, move on to larger specimens. This is a blast to eat—and should have enough sauce to make plain white rice a terrific accompaniment. A simple Chinese-style vegetable like Snow Peas with Ginger (page 470) would make the meal even better.

Recipe notes

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