If you are a fan of hot and sour soup, please give this Szechuan fish soup （酸菜鱼） a try. It is a classic Sichuan dish where the fish is thinly sliced and poached in a rich broth made from stock flavored with fish bone, peppers, ginger, garlic, and pickles.
The first time I’m have it is from a Sichuan restaurant, and the first bite…goodness, it’s mega spicy with fire. The actual way of making this dish is to stir fry the fish bone to make the broth with the pickles, this way you may see that the pickles are attached with some fish fresh which took off from the bone during the stir fry process.
For pickles mustard, there are two types of pickled in the market. One is the salty type, and this is the sour type. In case, the sour type is not available, you might need to adjust the sour taste with vinegar.
Pickled pepper is used in the
original recipe to add spice. However,
it isn't accessible where I live. I
therefore substitute dried chilies for it.
Generally, pickled fish is made with
river fish. I think many people might not like the fishy smell. I am using red
snapper fillets which I am going to make in a simple way. Of course, it is
slightly different from Sichuan-style pickled fish, but just keep it simple,
not too complicated.
INGREDIENTS
600g red snapper (keep bones for stock)
Some cooking oil
15g ginger
3 pcs dried chilies (deseeded and cut
into short lengths)
6 cloves of garlic
1 stalk of spring onions
Some slice chilies
200g of pickled mustard greens
(sourish type)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp vinegar (optional)
MARINADE (For fish fillets)
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
SOUP STOCK
1.5L water
Fish bones and fish head
10g sliced ginger
METHODS
1.Deseeded and cut dried chilies into
short lengths. Slice the garlic and ginger. Chop the spring onions. Keep the
white part aside. Cut the pickles mustard into small pieces.
2. Heat up the wok without oil, pour
in the pickles mustard, stir fry to dry up the water in it. Remove for later
use.
3. Remove the fish meat, slice it
into thin slices, wash it twice with clean water, drain the water, marinade
with salt and Shaoxing wine for 20 minutes.
4. In a pot of hot water, add the
fish bones with salt and slice ginger. Let it simmer at
low heat for 30 minutes. Discard the bones and keep the soup.
5. Heat up the work with some cooking
oil, stir fry the slices of ginger, garlic, spring onion (white part) and dried
chilies until fragrant and turn golden brown. Add back the pickles mustard
green, quickly stir until all the ingredients are well combined.
6. Pour in the fish stock, cover and
simmer for 10 minutes. Season with salt and sugar. You can now add some white vinegar if your
soup isn't sour enough.
7. Scoop out pickle mustard and place
it at the bottom of a bowl. Add the fish fillets to the wok and cook for about
30 seconds. Once cooked, remove immediately and serve in a large bowl with
pickled mustard. Pour the soup into the bowl.
Note: Do not overcook the fish fillets.
Overcooked fish fillets in soup can become dry, tough, and lose flavor.
8. Garnish with spring onions and sliced
chilies. ENJOY!!
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