A complete guide to the sour and refreshing pickled fish appetizer

Overview

Pickled fish is actually a very simple home-cooked dish. All it requires is cooking skills. Nowadays, the market is convenient, and fish vendors and service staff at supermarket counters can do it for you. In this way, it is not a fantasy that everyone can make pickled fish that can rival the masters. Compared with the spicy boiled fish, which is spicy and addictive, the pickled fish is sour and appetizing. It is not greasy when cooked and is more suitable for summer.

Tags

• hot dishes
• appetizers
• common dishes
• meat dishes
• children
• old man
• sichuan cuisine
• summer recipes
• lunch
• famous dishes
• cooking wine
• dry starch
• egg white
• fish pickled cabbage
• fresh grass carp
• green chili
• millet pepper
• onions
• pickled sansho pepper
• salad oil
• sugar
• ginger
• pepper
• salt

Ingredients

Steps

1. 1 Clean the grass carp and cut into two large fillets; (grass carp of about 3 pounds has the most tender meat and the best taste; if you can’t finish it in one meal, you can save part of it for something else, such as sesame fish steak)

   

2. 2 Then slice off the large spines on the belly of the fish fillet; (Ignore the other small spines, just spit them out when eating)

   

3. 3 Slice along the grain of the fish meat; (If you can't read the grain, hold the fish tail with the knife in your left and right hands, and cut with the blade diagonally towards the tail. Don't cut the first blade to the fish skin, and cut it with the second knife. It is a double-fly fillet; vice versa for left-handers. If you fillet against the grain, the fillet will definitely break; the angle of the blade's inclination determines the size of the fillet; double-flying can make the fish fillet larger and reduce the loss of nutrients; the fish fillet does not need to be too thin, as it will easily break.)

   

4. 4 Rinse the cut fish fillets again with clean water, drain and squeeze out the water; (rinsing the fish fillets can effectively remove the fishy smell, and the product will be whiter; after rinsing, be sure to squeeze out the water before adding the flavor, you can use sterilized towels or kitchen paper)

   

5. 5 Add marinade salt, sugar, cooking wine, pepper and an egg white to the fish fillet, and grasp it well; (Egg white can also make the fish fillet bright and tender; do not mix with chopsticks, otherwise the fish fillet will break)

   

6. 6 Finally, add dry starch and grasp it evenly; (dry starch can also make the fish fillets tender and smooth, so be sure to grasp it evenly as your hands will feel sticky; use sweet potato starch, also known as sweet potato starch, to make the fish fillets more tough and less likely to break)

   

7. 7 Catch it evenly and set it aside to marinate; (If possible, try to marinate for a longer time.)

   

8. 8 Chop the remaining fish heads and bones into pieces and rinse them with clean water; (especially cut off the fish heads so that the nutrition of the fish heads can be cooked out.)

   

9. 9 Fish sauerkraut and pickled peppers; (Generally for a grass carp of about 3 pounds, half a fish sauerkraut is enough; 5 or 6 pickled sansho peppers can add a bit of spiciness; sauerkraut and pickled peppers can be purchased at the condiments or pickle counters of general supermarkets. The sauerkraut with bright green and yellow colors is of better quality, and the sauerkraut with too dark color is often soaked for a longer time)

   

10. 10 Wash the sauerkraut and cut it into sections; (There are also recipes that say you should blanch the sauerkraut. I have tried it. It is safe and clean, but the sourness will be compromised. Make your own choice.)

    

11. 11 Cut onion and ginger into large pieces;

    

12. 12 Cut millet pepper and green pepper diagonally into slices;

    

13. 13 Start the wok, add 1 tablespoon of salad oil, heat the pan with cold oil, add the fish bones and fish heads, stir-fry thoroughly over high heat; (Don't be afraid to fry them into pieces, you can also break them intentionally. This part is not needed in the end, we just need to cook out their nutrients.)

    

14. 14 When the fish bones and fish heads have turned white, add 1/3 of the pickled cabbage, pickled peppers, green onion and ginger, and continue to stir-fry over high heat until fragrant;

    

15. 15 Add boiling water; (it must be boiling water, the water will boil as soon as it comes out of the pot, and it will be a thick white soup)

    

16. 16 Beat off the scum; (the scum contains impurities from cooking fish bones and fish heads, so don’t be lazy)

    

17. 17 Continue to simmer over high heat for about 5 or 6 minutes. When the soup becomes whiter and thicker, remove all the solids in the soup: fish bones, fish heads, onions, ginger, pickled cabbage, and pickled peppers, leaving only the soup;

    

18. 18 Add the remaining 2/3 of the sauerkraut and continue to boil over high heat to create a rich sauerkraut aroma;

    

19. 19 At this time, you can add appropriate amount of salt and cooking wine to taste;

    

20. 20 Take out the sauerkraut and spread it on the bottom of the container;

    

21. 21 Add the fish fillets: Keep the fire high and the soup boiling; start by spreading the fish slices one by one, quickly and evenly in the pot; (I took pictures myself, so I can’t take pictures of the process~) After adding the fish fillets, don’t stir them randomly, you can stir them along the sides of the pot or push the bottom (like cooking dumplings);

    

22. 22 When the soup in the pot slowly boils and the fish fillets change color, turn off the heat;

    

23. 23 Pour the soup and fish fillets onto the sauerkraut in the container, sprinkle with chili flakes, and add some chopped chives;

    

24. 24 Heat up a small pot and heat about 2 tablespoons of salad oil until there is a slight smoke. Add it to the fish fillets while it is still hot. (If you want it spicy, add the chili flakes to it. Is it okay if you don’t want to add this spoonful of oil? Why not? Eat it yourself anyway!)