Braised Fish With Deep Fried Bean Curd Recipes

CHINESE BRAISED FISH (HONGSHAO YU)

Steps:

• Using paper towels, pat the fish thoroughly dry. Wrap the fish in fresh paper towels while you prepare the rest of the ingredients. The goal is to make the fish as dry as absolutely possible. Use a sharp knife to score both sides of the fish three times.
• Once the prep work is done, unwrap the fish and dust it with a thin, even layer of cornstarch on both sides. This step will help keep the skin in tact during pan-frying.
• Heat the wok until it starts to smoke, and immediately add the oil and ginger slices. Reduce the heat to medium. Once the ginger slices start to brown, remove them from the wok and set aside. Carefully lay the fish in the wok, and DO EVERYTHING IN YOUR POWER NOT TO MOVE OR TOUCH THE FISH for the next 5 minutes. You can tilt the wok around so the oil glides around to evenly brown the fish.
• After 5 minutes, shake the wok slightly to see if the fish has seared enough to stop sticking to the wok. This is when you can carefully flip the fish over and do the same process for the other side.
• Once both sides are nicely browned, add the ginger back to the wok along with the scallions, shaoxing wine, sugar, vinegar, dark soy sauce and light soy sauce. Keep the heat at medium low, and cook the fish by continuously spooning the cooking liquid over the fish. Cook on each side for 4-5 minutes. By now, the sauce should be cooked down and almost syrupy. Serve!
• Tip: If you want to make sure the fish is done, carefully pick apart the thickest part of the fish. If the meat readily comes apart from the bone, it's done. You can plate it so that the hole you made is facing down!

BRAISED FISH WITH DEEP-FRIED BEAN CURD

Steps:

• 1. Have fish cleaned and scaled, but left whole. Rinse in cold water. Dry well, inside and out, with paper toweling and score on both sides. Sprinkle fish with the salt and let stand 10 minutes. Then coat lightly with flour. 2. Shred ginger root. Cut scallion in 1/2-inch sections. 3. Cut each bean curd cake in 9 cubes. Heat oil to bubbling and deep-fry bean curd until light golden. Drain on paper toweling. 4. Heat the second quantity of oil until nearly smoking. Add salt, then fish brown well on each side (about 3 minutes). Remove from pan. 5. Heat remaining oil. Add remaining salt, along with shredded ginger root, and stir-fry a few times. Add water and bring to a boil. 6. Add fish and bean curd. Top with scallion sections and simmer, covered, about 10 to 15 minutes. Meanwhile, in a cup, blend cornstarch, sugar, soy sauce, sherry, pepper and remaining water to a paste. 7. Transfer fish and bean curd to a warm serving platter, leaving liquids in pan. Stir in cornstarch paste, to thicken. Pour sauce over fish and serve. The Thousand Recipe Chinese Cookbook. ©1994 by Gloria Bley Miller.

DEEP-FRIED BEAN CURD STUFFED WITH MINCED FISH

Steps:

• 1. Shell and devein shrimp. Mince or grind together with fish. 2. Add egg white and salt and knead well to blend thoroughly. Divide in 16 parts, forming each into a ball. Then toss each ball hard against a cutting board, or other solid surface, 15 to 20 times. (This will remove the air.) 3. Cut each bean curd cake diagonally in 4 separate triangles. On one cut surface of each triangle, cut a pocket by starting near the apex and making a slit running 3/4 of the way down. (Do not cut clear through bean curd triangle.) 4. Stuff a fishball into each slit or pocket, flattening and shaping fish to fit. Meanwhile heat oil. 5. Add bean curd triangles, a few at a time, and deep-fry until golden (3 to 5 minutes). Drain on paper toweling and serve. The Thousand Recipe Chinese Cookbook. ©1994 by Gloria Bley Miller.