Sichuan Boiling Fish (Feiteng Style)

Sichuan Boiling Fish (Feiteng Style)

Ingredients

• 1 whole (about 400g fillet) Fish fillet
• — For marinating the fish —
• a pinch (1.3g) Salt
• a pinch (0.7g) White pepper powder
• 2 (about 70g) Egg whites
• a small handful (4.5g) Cornstarch
• — For cooking —
• as needed Fresh seasonal vegetables
• 3g, 10g, 18g Scallion, ginger, garlic
• 1/2 tablespoon (10g) Doubanjiang (chili bean paste)
• 1 tablespoon (15g) Shaoxing wine
• a tiny drizzle Dark soy sauce (optional)
• 1 tablespoon (15g) Light soy sauce
• 600ml Stock or water
• to taste Salt, sugar, chicken bouillon
• a large handful Dried chili peppers
• a large handful (15g) Green Sichuan peppercorns
• a small handful (3g) Red Sichuan peppercorns (optional)

Instructions

1. Take a handful each of green and red Sichuan peppercorns — use plenty, with a ratio of about 3:1 green to red.
2. Break the dried chili peppers in half and shake out the seeds.
3. Place the dried chilies and peppercorns together in the same bowl.
4. Sprinkle a little water over them and toss with your hands to dampen all the chilies and peppercorns.
5. Slice the fish on the bias into fillets. I'm using fish fillets here because I couldn't find a suitable whole fish. For how to handle a live fish, see Tip 1.
6. The fillets should be about 2–3mm thin. If using a live fish, you can slice them even thinner.
7. Rinse the sliced fish in clean water, then squeeze out as much moisture as possible with your hands.
8. Add salt, white pepper, and egg whites. Mix evenly by hand.
9. Add a handful of cornstarch and continue mixing until evenly coated. Set aside.
10. Prepare the scallion, ginger, and garlic. Set aside.
11. Finely mince a small spoonful of Pixian doubanjiang. Set aside.
12. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Once boiling, add a splash of cooking oil and a pinch of salt.
13. Blanch the vegetables until just cooked through (crisp-tender).
14. In a separate wok, heat oil over medium heat until it reaches about 150°C (300°F). Add the scallion, ginger, and garlic and sauté until fragrant.
15. When the aromatics are lightly golden, add the Pixian doubanjiang and stir briefly until the red oil releases. Use medium-low heat here — the paste burns easily.
16. Add Shaoxing wine and light soy sauce, letting the heat bloom their aromas.
17. Pour in the stock or water and bring to a rolling boil over high heat.
18. Once boiling, season the broth with salt, sugar, chicken bouillon (optional), and white pepper (optional, to taste).
19. I added some concentrated chicken stock as a shortcut for homemade stock — this is optional.
20. Add a tiny drizzle of dark soy sauce to give the broth a subtle base color.
21. Turn off the heat or reduce to the lowest setting, then gently slide in the fish fillets.
22. Let the fillets sit for a few seconds so the cornstarch coating sets before you move them.
23. Gently push the fillets around so they cook evenly. Keep the heat on medium-low so the liquid stays just below a simmer — see Tip 4 for why.
24. As the fish cooks, fish out the scallion and ginger pieces (purely for presentation).
25. When the fish is about 80% cooked through, pour the fish and broth together into the large bowl lined with the blanched vegetables.
26. In the wok, heat about 150–200ml of oil.
27. When the oil is very hot (you see wisps of blue smoke), quickly add the peppercorns and dried chilies. Count to two.
28. The moment two seconds are up, pour the sizzling oil, chilies, and peppercorns over the fish. Speed is critical — even one or two seconds too long and the peppercorns and chilies will scorch, losing all their fragrance.
29. Once the hot oil is poured over, the dish looks much more appetizing. Done!