Hi everyone, I'm Wang Gang
Today I'll share the recipe of a homely dish
Vinegar braised bass
First, prepare a bass (around 750g)
Remove the fish scale and cut the belly open
Remove the organs and gills and rinse it
You can also use carps like grass carps
Now cut the fish
First we make parallel cuts on the fish
The cuts should not be too long, or else the fish will fall apart in the wok
Next start preparing the other ingredients
Prepare a small piece of pork fat and dice it (around 35g)
Prepare garlic and ginger (25g each) and dice them
Add a star anise to the bowl
Add some cinnamon
Add a bay leaf
Add a few diced scallions
Finally add some dried chili pepper cut in pieces
Next start cooking
First we heat up the wok
When it's heated, add Kuan You (literally "broad oil")
Then turn to high heat and bring the oil to about 180 °C
When the oil is heated, turn to low heat and fry the fish
Before putting the fish into the wok, spread corn starch evenly on the surface
This is to make sure the fish doesn't become too dry
Then hold the tail and fry the fish for 3 minutes
This is to fry until the surface is golden and crispy
You need to pour the oil on the fish evenly midway
Take the fish out after 3 minutes
If deep-frying isn't your style, you can pan-fry it with much less oil
Pour out the hot oil and start making the sauce
Heat up the wok and add some base oil
When the oil reaches 120 °C, add all the aromatics and stir-fry for a minute
This is to bring out the flavor of the pork fat and the aromatics
After one minute, add 5g of oyster sauce
Add 10g of "Shaicu" vinegar
Add 10g of Chinese cooking wine
Add 10g of light soy sauce
Mix it up, add some water, and turn to high heat until it boils
After it boils, add more seasonings
Add some salt to the wok (around 2g)
Add two spoonfuls of sugar (4g)
Add one spoonful of ground pepper (around 1g)
Add one spoonful of chicken bouillon (around 1.5g)
Add 3g of dark soy sauce for the color
Finally add the fried bass to the wok and braise for 15 minutes on low heat
You don't need to flip it because you can just pour the hot sauce onto the top
After 15 minutes, take the bass out and plate the dish
Then take out the aromatics from the wok
Next add slurry to the sauce
Add a little slurry to the wok to make the sauce slightly thicker
Then add some minced ginger
Then add some Ming You (aka "oil for a shiny presence")
Finally pour the sauce on the fish and it's ready
We've finished making a delicious vinegar braised bass
Now, let's summarize the techniques First, vinegar is like alcohol. The longer you heat it the more it'll evaporate Secondly, adding vinegar softens the fish bones, meaning that this is suitable for fish with lots of bones Thirdly, adding some minced ginger at the last step enhances the umami flavor These are all the techniques I'd like to share