Taizhou-Style Braised Yellow Croaker
Ingredients
- 1 whole deep-sea yellow croaker
- as needed scallion, ginger, garlic
- as needed pork belly
- as needed Hua Diao cooking wine
- as needed light soy sauce
- as needed scallion greens
Instructions
- Clean the yellow croaker and make diagonal cuts for flavor absorption. The skin on the head must be peeled off (it's the source of fishiness).
- Prepare the aromatics: pork belly, leek, ginger, garlic, and dried chili. Cut some scallion greens separately. Boil a kettle of water and set aside.
- Heat the wok until it just starts to smoke. Start with lard, using a generous amount. Sauté ginger slices until fragrant, then add pork belly and stir-fry until lightly caramelized.
- Once the pork belly is fragrant, add the yellow croaker to pan-fry. Pat the fish dry with kitchen paper before adding. Let it sit for a moment before moving the wok. Fry until golden on one side, then flip. If the oil is hot enough, it won't stick.
- Add scallion, garlic, and dried chili. Pour in 50g Hua Diao wine to deglaze (yellow wine works too), then immediately cover for 10 seconds.
- Open the lid and pour in freshly boiled hot water, enough to cover half the fish. If you like rice cakes, add them now (add more water accordingly). Add one ladle of light soy sauce (about 2-3 tablespoons if using a spoon). Don't add any other seasonings. Keep boiling over high heat for 8 minutes until the broth turns milky yellow.
- Before serving, taste the broth. If it's bland, add a pinch of salt. Add 1g white pepper.
- Add the prepared scallion greens and serve. Don't use a spatula — just pour the whole thing out, or the fish will break apart.
