Sichuan Fish with Tofu

Fish and tofu braised together in a thickened sauce and served in the pan.

Fish, Tofu. Not vegetarian — contains fish.

Ingredients

• 500 g white fish fillets, in 4 cm pieces
• 400 g firm tofu, in 2 cm cubes
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon chilli bean paste
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 teaspoons ginger, chopped
• 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
• 350 ml hot water
• 2 teaspoons cornflour mixed with 2 tablespoons cold water
• 2 spring onions, sliced

Method

1. Lower the tofu into salted boiling water and leave it 2 minutes, then drain it. This firms the outside so the cubes survive being turned later.
2. Fry the chilli bean paste in the oil over a low heat for a minute, then add the garlic and ginger.
3. Add the soy sauce, wine and hot water and bring to a simmer.
4. Put the tofu in first and give it 4 minutes on its own — it takes longer than the fish and adding them together leaves one of them wrong.
5. Lay the fish on top, cover, and simmer 5 minutes without stirring.
6. Stir the cornflour slurry and pour it in, tilting the pan to work it through rather than stirring. The sauce should thicken enough to coat but still pool.
7. Scatter the spring onions over and bring the pan to the table. Unlike the boiled fish there is no oil poured over at the end and no broth to drink — this one is a dish with a sauce, not a bowl with a soup.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under China · All recipes