Chinese Braised Fish (红烧鱼)

This is a Chinese home dish that we make often. But this recipe quantitatively documented it to guarantee consistent outcome.

Ingredients

Fresh fish - 1, carp, tilapia (descaled and cleaned)
Cornstarch - 2 tsp
Oil - 3 TBSP
Ginger - 6 slices
Green onion - 3 stalks (cut into 2-inch pieces)
Cooking wine - 3/4 cup
Sugar - 2 TBSP
Chinese black vinegar - 2 1/2 TBSP
Dark soy sauce - 1 TBSP
Soy sauce - 2 tsp

Steps

1. Using paper towels, pat the fish thoroughly dry. Use a sharp knife to score both sides of the fish three times. Dust it with a thin, even layer of cornstarch on both sides. This step will help keep the skin in tact during pan-frying.

2. Heat the wok until it starts to smoke, and immediately add the oil and ginger slices. Reduce the heat to medium. Once the ginger slices start to brown, remove them from the wok and set aside. Carefully lay the fish in the wok, and DO EVERYTHING IN YOUR POWER NOT TO MOVE OR TOUCH THE FISH for the next 5 minutes. You can tilt the wok around so the oil glides around to evenly brown the fish.

3. After 5 minutes, shake the wok slightly to see if the fish has seared enough to stop sticking to the wok. Carefully flip the fish over and do the same process for the other side.

4. Once both sides are nicely browned, add the ginger back to the wok along with the scallions, cooking wine, sugar, vinegar, dark soy sauce and light soy sauce. Keep the heat at medium low, and cook the fish by continuously spooning the cooking liquid over the fish. Cook on each side for 4-5 minutes. By now, the sauce should be cooked down and almost syrupy. Enjoy.