Chinese cuisine

Easy

Fish with Sichuan Pickled Vegetable

Sizzling hot and sour broth with super tender fish slices, this Fish with Sichuan Pickled Vegetable is a slight variation from the famous Suan Cai Yu dish.

Get Chef John’s Chinese Pickled Vegetables recipe here.

Get Chef John’s Peppercorn Oil recipe here.

Chef John Zhang

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Recipe

PRE TIME: 10 min

COOKING TIME: 15 min

TOTAL TIME: 25 min

4 SERVING

Ingredients:

1 lb. Catfish, Whole Fish, Headless And Cleaned
1 tsp. Minced Garlic
0.5 tbsp. Dried Red Chili
5 oz. Chaozhou Pickled Cabbage
1 tsp. Sichuan Peppercorn
1 tbsp. Chef Made Peppercorn Oil (See "Chef John's Signature Oils" Video)
1 tbsp. Shaoxing Wine
3 cup Water
1 cup Pickle Juice From The Pickle Jar
3 oz. Sichuan Pickled Vegetables(Assorted)
2 tbsp. White Vinegar
1 tsp. Crushed Dry Red Chili Pepper
1 tsp. Peppercorn Powder
2 tbsp. Hot cooking oil

Directions:

Step 1

Cut fish crosswise into about ½ inch thick slices. Set aside.

Step 2

Cut Chaozhou pickled cabbage into large pieces. Set aside.

Step 3

Cut all Sichuan pickled vegetables into appropriate pieces. Set aside.

Step 4

Heat enough oil in a large wok over medium to high heat, deep-fried fish pieces at a lower temperature. When the temperature reaches 400-500°F(200-250°C), keep cooking for 3 minutes. Remove from oil. Pour out the oil.

Step 5

Return the same wok to the stovetop, add minced garlic, pickled red chili pepper, then stir fry until fragrant. Add Chaozhou pickled cabbage and peppercorn; stir well; then add peppercorn oil, and Shaoxing wine. Continue stirring for a while.

Step 6

Add water, pickle juice from pickle jar, and fish. Stir well. Finally, add Sichuan pickled vegetable and white vinegar. Keep cooking a few minutes.

Step 7

Transfer to a clay pot and top with crushed red chili pepper and Sichuan peppercorn powder. Pour hot oil over crushed red chili pepper and peppercorn powder.

Step 8

Serve with heating warmer underneath clay pot.

Final Notes

Suan cai, also called suan tsai and Chinese sauerkraut, is a traditional Chinese pickled Chinese cabbage. Get Chef John's recipe of handmade Sichuan pickled vegetables here.