Ingredients and Tools
- Grass carp (have the vendor at the market or supermarket kill it and remove unwanted organs)
- Scallion
- Cooking wine
- White pepper powder
- Edible salt
- Garlic
- Cinnamon
- Star anise
- Bay leaves
- Green Sichuan peppercorns
- Dried chili segments
- Lantern chili
- Hot pot base (any)
- Dried tofu sheets
- Mung bean sprouts
- Onion
- Doubanjiang
- Celery segments
- Roasted peanuts
- White sesame seeds
- Cilantro (tastes better if added; optional based on personal taste)
Measurements
- Grass carp about three jin
- Scallion half a stalk
- Cooking oil 20ml
- Cooking wine 10-15ml
- Edible salt 5-10g
- White pepper powder 5g-10g
- Cinnamon a small piece
- Star anise two
- Garlic cloves eight
- Bay leaves two
- Green Sichuan peppercorns a small handful
- Dried chili segments 10
- Lantern chili 4
- Celery segments two stalks
- Onion half
- Dried tofu sheets one sheet
Steps
- Grass carp (generally 3 jin), cut open from the back, score a few cuts on both sides along the back of the fish, do not cut into the belly or it will be hard to hold its shape
- You can pour hot water over the fish to wash off the slime, or use a brush under running water and keep scrubbing until it no longer feels slimy.
- Put the fish in a container, add cooking wine, 10g white pepper powder, and 5g edible salt, rub evenly and marinate for 20 minutes to absorb flavor.
- Cut half a scallion into pieces, split the garlic cloves in the middle, and place them with star anise, bay leaves, and cinnamon in a container
- Split the dried chili segments in half lengthwise and place them with the lantern chili in a container
- Cut celery into small segments
- Blanch the bean sprouts
- Blanch the dried tofu sheets and cut into shreds
- Slice the onion into shreds.
- Grill the fish
- If you have an oven, brush oil on the baking tray, place the fish skin-side down, bake until both sides are golden, then sprinkle with cumin powder
- If you don't have an oven, heat a pan with oil, sprinkle 2g edible salt on both sides of the pan, add the grass carp and start pan-frying. Do not flip it right away when you add it; wait until one side sets, then flip, pan-fry both sides until golden, sprinkle with cumin powder, remove and place on a plate ready.
- Add 20ml cooking oil to the pan; once the oil is hot, add scallion, garlic, star anise, and bay leaves and stir-fry until fragrant
- Add half a pack of hot pot base and 15-20g doubanjiang, stir-fry until the red oil comes out
- Add 5g white sugar, 10g edible salt, and 5ml light soy sauce to season, pour in water level with the ingredients and bring to a boil
- Add celery segments, bean sprouts, and shredded dried tofu sheets in order; do not cook through, just blanch briefly, then layer on onion shreds and place the grilled fish on top
- Add dried chili, lantern chili, and green Sichuan peppercorns
- Heat oil in another pot; once hot, pour it over the just-added chilies to release the aroma
- Finally sprinkle with roasted peanuts, chopped scallions, white sesame seeds, and cilantro
- Simmer for 5-6 minutes, and it's ready.
Notes
- Technical summary: above
- The amounts of salt, pepper powder, cumin powder, cooking oil, light soy sauce, white sugar, etc. for this dish should be decided according to personal taste and ingredient proportions, and do not need to strictly follow the above amounts. If you follow this guide and find issues or processes that can be improved, please submit an Issue or Pull request.
