Whole Fish With Black Bean Sauce For Chinese New Year
Why? Well, because I love black bean sauce and fish is a traditional Chinese New Year meal.
Chinese culture takes its symbolism seriously and the Chinese word for fish (yu) sounds the same as the word for plenty.
So by having Fish on the lunar New Year, you insure your family will have plenty for the coming year.
Steaming a whole fish can be daunting at first, but it's actually fairly easy.
Like most ethnic food the key is the prep work.
First your ingredient list: Use peanut oil or vegetable oil for frying.
Also you'll need 2 (1 1/2 to 2-pound) flat white fish, like sole, scaled and cleaned, 2 tablespoons Chinese fermented black beans, 4 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic, 1 tablespoon mirin,1 tablespoon sesame oil, 2 teaspoons minced ginger,1 1/2 teaspoons sugar, 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 cup cornstarch, and finally 1/4 cup all-purpose flour.
After cutting 2-3 inch slashes (diagonally) in the fish, bring the oil up to 400 degrees F.
Crush the black beans and garlic, along with the ice wine, oil, ginger, sugar, and pepper flakes, and salt in a little bowl.
Combine the flour and corn starch and lightly dust the whole fish in it.
Then simply fry the fish in the oil until it is golden brown (6-10 minutes depending on size) and serve it up.
I like to garnish it with chopped scallions and serve with a spicy dipping sauce.
Happy Chinese New Year!
Chinese culture takes its symbolism seriously and the Chinese word for fish (yu) sounds the same as the word for plenty.
So by having Fish on the lunar New Year, you insure your family will have plenty for the coming year.
Steaming a whole fish can be daunting at first, but it's actually fairly easy.
Like most ethnic food the key is the prep work.
First your ingredient list: Use peanut oil or vegetable oil for frying.
Also you'll need 2 (1 1/2 to 2-pound) flat white fish, like sole, scaled and cleaned, 2 tablespoons Chinese fermented black beans, 4 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic, 1 tablespoon mirin,1 tablespoon sesame oil, 2 teaspoons minced ginger,1 1/2 teaspoons sugar, 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 cup cornstarch, and finally 1/4 cup all-purpose flour.
After cutting 2-3 inch slashes (diagonally) in the fish, bring the oil up to 400 degrees F.
Crush the black beans and garlic, along with the ice wine, oil, ginger, sugar, and pepper flakes, and salt in a little bowl.
Combine the flour and corn starch and lightly dust the whole fish in it.
Then simply fry the fish in the oil until it is golden brown (6-10 minutes depending on size) and serve it up.
I like to garnish it with chopped scallions and serve with a spicy dipping sauce.
Happy Chinese New Year!
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