Sichuan Spicy Fish Stew 水煮魚
This gloriously easy and distinctive Sichuan Spicy Fish Stew 水煮魚 is a tender fish and veggies stew finished with a fiery and tongue numbing aromatic 'mala' spiced oil. Oh. Wow. What a spectacular dish this is!
- Prep time
- 20 min
- Cook time
- 12 min
- Yield
- 4 servings
- Difficulty
- HARD
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 1/2 cup neutral flavored oil
- 4 star anise
- 2 pieces cinnamon bark
- 3 black cardamom
- 10 green cardamom
- 1 tsp coriander seeds, or 1 tbsp coriander powder
- 1/3 cup sichuan peppercorns
- 15 dried chilies
- 1 lb white fish fillet, 450g
- 1 tbsp corn starch
- 1 tbsp Shao Hsing rice wine
- 1 tsp white pepper
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp fermented soybeans (also known as douchi), 發酵大豆
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 5 slices ginger
- 5 cloves garlic, smashed
- 1 liter fish stock
- 1 big bunch soy bean sprouts 黃豆芽
- 3 squares dried tofu gan 豆干
- 1 stalk spring onion, cut to 1 inch lengths
- 1 tbsp whole sichuan peppercorns
- 6 whole dried chilies
Instructions
- 1
Make Spice Infused Oil: In small pot heat up 1/2 cup oil.
- 2
Smash cardamoms open with side of cleaver or a pestle.
- 3
When oil is hot add in star anise, cinnamon bark, smashed black and green cardamoms, and coriander seeds. Simmer over low, low heat for 10-15 mins or until the spice's oils are released and infused into the oil.
- 4
Slice fish on a bias cut into 1/4-1/2 inch thick slices. Marinate fish with starch, rice wine, white pepper and salt for 15 mins.
- 5
Wash soybeans and pluck off roots.
- 6
Slice dried tofu gan into 1/8 inch thick slices.
- 7
Make Spicy Mala Powder: Use your food processor to roughly grind dried chili peppers. Use a spice grinder or mortar and pestle to finely grind the sichuan peppers. Mix peppers together and set aside.
- 8
Use mortar and pestle to mash fermented soybean and sugar together until it becomes a paste.
- 9
Heat 2 tbsp oil in wok, add in mashed fermented soybean, garlic and ginger, then stir until aromatic.
- 10
Pour in stock and cover the pot. When stock is boiling, add in soybeans and let simmer for 2 mins or until cooked. Remove soybeans and place in a layer on bottom of a 2-3 inch deep serving dish.
- 11
Add sliced tofu gan over soybeans.
- 12
Heat up the stock again until boiling, then add in marinated fish slices and let cook for 2-3 mins or until cooked.
- 13
Scoop fish out and place neatly as the next layer in serving dish. Finally pour soup in up to an half inch from the top.
- 14
Sprinkle Spicy Mala Powder all over fish. Evenly spread out whole dried chilies, whole sichuan peppercorns and spring onion.
- 15
Heat up Spice Infused Oil until very, very hot. Carefully pour hot oil all over fish. The stock will boil and roil up quite a bit and splatter so be careful.