This might just be your new favorite fish recipe:
my dad’s Salt & Pepper Sole Fish.
By the end of this video,
you’ll know how to make the crispiest fish
paired with the most addictive seasonings.
First, chop the green onions.
Dice them into small pieces.
I'm using the white parts.
First, we’ll dice up the white parts of two green onions.
Then, a small chili pepper.
Small fresh pepper.
If it's too spicy for you, then omit it.
Just one.
Then we’ll need two cloves of garlic.
That's 1/2 oz.
Smash them.
We’ll smash and peel them. Then mince.
Chop them up.
Ginger.
Just a bit for marinating the fish.
We’ll first cut an ounce of ginger into thin slices.
Then lay them down and cut into strips.
Then turn them perpendicularly to mince.
Next, we’ll need a red onion.
Onion is optional.
For this video,
we want to make it visually appealing.
1/2 oz or so is enough.
We’ll cut the onion first into strips.
Then turn 90 degrees to mince.
Minced.
We don't have time to cover knife skills here,
but check out our comprehensive masterclass
on Chinese knife techniques
in the Canto Cooking Club.
Learn more at club.madewithlau.com.
The other ingredients are all ready.
Let's prepare the fish.
This fish is a sole fish.
Today, we're using 1 lb of sole fish.
Cut off the tail first.
We’ll first cut off the end of the tail.
Cut off the edges.
Then we’ll cut off all of the fins on the edge of the fish.
Then, we're going to descale the fish.
Scrape off the scales.
If you buy fish in Chinatown, they'll descale the fish for you.
We bought this at Costco.
Costco won't descale for you.
Nicole from our team asked
if there are certain types of fish you should use or avoid.
Bony fish are not suitable.
For example, we wouldn't use dace for this dish.
There are too many bones in dace.
Sole fish doesn't have many bones.
The bones are just along the edge.
Could you fry fish that's well de-boned?
Yes!
It wouldn't fall apart?
No, fry it the same way.
All right, all clean now.
After scraping off the scales, we’ll rinse the fish in water.
We'll wash it.
We’ll make sure all of the scales wash off
and all the edges are clean.
Cut off and clean away the edges.
Now, we'll cut this fish into 6 pieces.
We’ll cut the fish into 6 similarly sized pieces like so.
The thickness of each piece will be
about an inch to an inch and a half.
Put it in this bowl.
Linda from Patreon asked,
"How do you pick fresh fish?"
In the US, they prohibit sellers from selling unfresh fish.
When you're at the fish stall,
press down on the fish,
if the flesh is firm and bounces back, it's fresh.
If you press down and that spot stays depressed,
the fish is not fresh.
Also, if the fish eyes are black, then it's fresh.
If the gills are pale, then it's not fresh.
Fresh fish have bright red gills.
Once it's all cut up,
we'll mix in 1/4 tsp of white pepper.
Add 1/2 tsp of salt.
Mix it around.
We’ll mix the seasoning into the fish with our hand.
Before we fry, we'll mix in some egg
and sprinkle on some cornstarch.
Add in 2/3 of the ginger.
It'll cut the fishiness.
It'll help get rid of the fishy smell.
We have all of these ingredients listed on our blog at madewithlau.com
along with step-by-step instructions and video clips
to guide you as you make the recipe at home.
After marinating the fish,
we’ll create the addictive salt & pepper seasoning.
1/2 tsp of salt.
1/2 tsp of garlic salt.
1/4 tsp of five spice powder.
1/4 tsp of white pepper.
All right, that's our salt mixture.
We'll use this at the end, after the fish is fried up.
Usually, restaurants won't use garlic salt.
But when I cook at home,
I like the aroma and taste of garlic salt in it.
Salt & pepper is a fixture on every Western dining table,
shorthand for salt and black pepper.
However, in the context of Chinese cooking,
the pepper refers to white pepper
and often other spicy seasonings.
Even though they come from the same fruit,
white pepper’s flavor profile is more subtle and woody
while the black pepper’s flavor profile
is more floral and forward.
As famous as Chinese salt & pepper dishes are,
there is no single definitive Chinese salt & pepper “formula”,
as each recipe is shaped by preference and ingredient availability.
While you can cook almost any protein in this style,
my dad will show you how to master fresh fish
and how to get that crispy yet tender texture in every bite.
All right, friends,
our ingredients for Salt & Pepper Fried Fish are ready.
Let's start frying!
We usually use the whole egg,
but today, we're going to use just the yolk.
We won't use the egg white.
I think it might turn out better.
Let's try it out!
Once the egg is mixed in,
the fish will fry up to a more beautiful color.
It'll also help the cornstarch stick better.
The fish will be crispier.
We’ll mix the egg yolk in with the fish using our hands,
making sure every piece is coated.
Once it's mixed in,
it's time for cornstarch.
I'm using 6 tbsp of cornstarch, watch.
Some people fry it with a flour coating, what's the difference?
Flour creates a soft crust.
If you fry something coated in cornstarch,
it won't be as soft.
Once the cornstarch is ready, we'll coat the fish.
The good thing about using yolk
it'll make the cornstarch stick really well,
which will create a crispier texture.
Egg yolk is thicker.
Shirley from the Canto Cooking Club asked,
"How do you easily pick out the bones
so you don't accidentally swallow them?"
You should always eat fish slowly and carefully.
Take your time and don't rush.
When it comes to eating around fish bones,
she's the best!
You have to learn her skill for eating around bones.
Yeah, what's your secret?
Gotta have patience!
We’ll continue coating the fish with the cornstarch,
making sure every side is well-covered.
Then, it’s time to break out the wok for deep-frying.
We're going to start frying the fish now.
Heat on.
Set it to the highest heat and get the wok really hot.
How do you know when it's hot enough?
Hold your hand near it to feel it.
This is oil we saved from frying before, it's delicious.
What kind of oil is it?
Corn oil.
About 12 oz of oil, not quite 1 lb.
The reason we’re using corn oil here instead of something like olive oil
is because olive oil has what's called a lower smoke point,
which is the temperature at which the oil stops shimmering or rippling
and starts smoking or burning.
Smoking oil isn't always a problem
and sometimes even desired for getting that perfect
“wok hei” in your stir fry,
but it's a sign that the oil is breaking down
which can release burnt or bitter flavors
or even harmful free radicals.
Here's a chart that highlights the smoke points
of a few of the most common cooking oils.
There are a few other factors that go into selecting oils
like whether they're neutral or flavored
or refined or unrefined.
Most cooking oil is created by extracting and compressing seeds and nuts
and oils that are “unrefined”, “raw”, or “virgin”
are usually bottled almost immediately.
They generally have more nutrients
but a lower smoke point and shorter shelf life.
Refined oils go through more processing
for a higher smoke point, longer shelf life,
and a more neutral flavor.
For simplicity's sake, for frying,
you generally want to use neutral, refined oils
like vegetable oil, refined olive oil, or corn oil.
We'll fry the fish in batches.
Heat to oil to around 300° F (149° C) for the first fry.
It's at 230° F now.
Give it a quick squeeze.
Squeezing will help the cornstarch stick more firmly.
If you don't have a thermometer, put a wooden chopstick in.
There is a bit of bubbling at the tip.
It's ready.
When the oil is at 300°F (149°C),
we can add in our first batch of fish.
Let's start frying now.
When you put it in, don't move it around.
Let it fry on its own for a while.
If you touch it, the cornstarch will fall off.
Understand?
After adding the fish, we won’t touch it for 20-30 seconds
but just let it fry.
All right, now we can move it.
Prevent them from sticking to the wok.
Then we can move the fish around gently,
making sure they’re getting fried evenly.
Nudge them around.
"When you are frying,
how do you prevent oil from popping everywhere?"
Don't use a shallow wok.
Use a deep pot or wok with high walls.
Then it's harder for the oil to splatter out.
Also, don't fry very wet things.
Water makes the oil splatter.
After adding the cornstarch coating, I squeeze it firmly.
For one, it helps the cornstarch stick firmly to the fish.
Also, it won't let the moisture result in oil splattering.
The oil is at 340° F now,
so we'll turn the heat down to low.
We’ll monitor our oil temperature,
so it stays at around 300°F (149°C).
We've turned the heat to low now.
After about 4 minutes of frying, we can take out the fish.
For the first fry, cook the fish until they're pale yellow.
Just a hint of golden color.
We'll be frying them again.
See?
The first fry cooks the fish through.
Cook them through on low heat.
The second fry makes them crispy.
Fish cooks through very quickly.
If your pieces are bigger, they'll take a bit longer.
All right, we have a few pieces left to fry.
Low heat.
Could you cook a bigger batch if you used more oil?
Sure, if you had more oil, you can fry more at a time.
Do the fish have to be entirely submerged?
Yes, they have to be completely submerged in the oil.
We’ll do the same 4-minute fry for this second batch of fish.
These last pieces are a bit smaller.
Since they're smaller, they don't take as long to fry.
The fish tail.
For smaller pieces, you can remove them earlier
if you see that they’re done.
See, it's a pale golden color.
Just starting to turn golden.
Then we’ll take out the rest of the pieces.
All right, next!
We'll heat up the oil for the second fry.
Why don't you scoop everything out at once with the strainer?
That might break the fish pieces.
That's why I take them out one piece at a time.
Ching from Patreon asked,
"How do you prevent the fish chunks from falling apart?"
Don't maneuver them forcefully.
Wait for them to cook and firm up before flipping them.
Then they won't fall apart.
If you don't use enough oil and have to move them a lot, they'll break.
If you fry in enough oil, they won't break.
Whenever you're frying fish,
don't cut the pieces too small.
Smaller pieces fall apart more easily.
For the second fry,
we’ll need to heat the oil up to 400°F (205°C).
We're at 400° F (204° C) now.
Time for the second fry.
Then we’ll add in our fish,
being careful not to splash the hot oil.
How long do you fry it this time?
It's very quick.
Not even a full minute.
Nora from Patreon asked,
"How do you keep the fish dry when you're frying it
but also keep it moist inside?"
A layer of egg under the cornstarch keeps it from being dry.
If you fry at too low a heat, the fish will dry out.
Low heat frying dries it out?
Yes, if you fry it for a long time, the juices will seep out.
Fry it at high heat to tighten the cornstarch crust,
which keeps the juices inside.
High heat?
Yes, on high heat.
After just 30-40 seconds of frying,
we’ll remove the 1st batch.
Gorgeous, right?
Then we’ll repeat with the second batch.
Fry up the rest.
That's all.
Restaurants typically fry these to order,
they won't fry in advance and have them sit around.
All right, everything is fried up.
Heat off.
We’ll turn the heat off and set aside our fried fish.
Now we’ll need a clean wok for our next step.
We'll just use a new wok here for convenience,
but you can pour out the oil and reuse the same wok.
We'll heat up the wok.
Stir-fry a bit.
We don't need much oil, just a tbsp.
We’ll spread the oil around the wok.
Add the garlic.
Then we’ll add the garlic & ginger.
Fresh chili pepper.
Then follow with the chili peppers.
We’ll stir-fry them for 10-20 seconds until they’re fragrant.
Then we’ll follow with the red onion.
Onion.
Then we’ll add the green onion right after.
Add the green onion.
Bloom those aromas.
Low heat.
"Can you do this without deep-frying it?"
You could pan-fry,
it would work but it wouldn't be as aromatic.
It would turn out differently.
Pan-frying and deep-frying are completely different methods.
You don't typically pan-fry salt & pepper dishes.
After just 40-50 seconds of stir-frying the aromatics,
we’ll add in all of the fish.
Add all the fish in.
We’ll toss the fish around in the aromatics
for about 15-20 seconds,
then we can add the seasoning we created earlier.
All right, next.
We'll add our seasoned salt from earlier.
My dad likes to pour it into his hand first, then sprinkle it.
Gradually sprinkle it in.
We’ll toss the fish in the wok
while we sprinkle on the seasoning a bit at a time.
What if we don't know how to toss the wok like that?
Mix it with the spatula.
Gently scoop it from the very bottom.
If you jab your spatula into the center, they'll fall apart.
You'll break the fish pieces.
Go to the very bottom.
Slide your spatula to the very bottom and pull up, okay?
Of course, you can also use a spatula
to gently mix in the seasoning.
If it's not salty enough, add more seasoning.
After about a minute of stir-frying with seasoning,
we’ll add a final flavor-enhancing ingredient.
We'll add a bit of wine here.
For the aroma.
We’ll add a splash of cooking wine and give it a toss.
All right, heat off.
Now, we’ll plate our fish in a visually appealing way.
My dad likes it with the tails on opposite ends of the plate.
And definitely don’t forget to add the crispy aromatics
at the bottom of the wok.
Finally, we can serve this crispy treat to our family.
This is delicious!
This dish is always a bestseller at Daddy's restaurants.
All right, friends.
Our Salt & Pepper Fried Fish is complete!
I hope you all enjoy it.
Hong Doy, time to eat fish!
Cheers!
It's delicious!
Mommy finger, mommy finger, where are you?
Here I am, here I am, how do you...
How do you do!!
Yeah!
You got it, bud!