CHINESE COOKING: This recipe is a nice way to cook a whole fish. Hope you would give it a try at home.

FISH FILET 骨香魚柳:

 

 

1 whole sole, rinsed & rescaled carefully

1 pumpkin

veggie mix:

    3 asparagus spears, cut into 2-inch sections

    5-6 mushroom caps, quartered

    1 green onion, cut into sections

    1/2 red pepper, cut into pieces

    1/2 cup canned or packaged ginkgo nuts

    1 large clove garlic, mashed

    2 pieces ginger, diced

seasoning:

   1/2 tsp. each salt, sugar and tapioca starch

   dash of white pepper

   1 tsp. cooking wine

oil for deep frying

1 tsp. tapioca starch mixed with 3 tbsp. cold water

 

 

 

Use a sharp knife to filet the fish, saving the bone in 1 piece and cutting the flesh into bite-sized pieces.

 

Cut pumpkin cross-wise into 1-inch thick rings. Remove pulp and seeds from 1 ring while reserving the rest for another recipe. Cook the pumpkin ring in boiling water for  5-6  minutes to soften. When cool enough to handle, scoop and trim ring, leaving a 3/4- inch of flesh as border. Sit pumpkin ring on the serving platter and reserve.

 

Add seasoning ingredients into fish pieces and marinate for 20 minutes. Blanch asparagus  in boiling water until just cooked but still green and crunchy. In a wok or non-stick saucepan, stir-fry red pepper and mushrooms with ginger & garlic until softened, then add in asparagus and ginkgo nuts. Cook together for 1-2 minutes, then add in green onions. Add salt to taste; then remove from pan and keep warm.

 

Clean and dry wok; then heat enough oil for deep frying until very hot. Lower the reserved fish skeleton, without head, into it. Deep fry for a few minutes until golden brown; then remove right away. While hot, place fish skeleton into a large ladle, with the tail end sticking out. Use a spatula to bend and manipulate the skeleton into a curved shape. Arrange skeleton to sit across the pumpkin ring, with the tail-end sticking upwards like a sail.

 

Pour off all but 1 tbsp. hot oil from wok/pan, reserving it for other uses. Heat remaining oil until hot, then stir fry fish pieces until just cooked. Return vegetables, tossing well with the fish. Add in starch solution, tossing and stirring well until it comes to a boil and thickens. Remove from heat right away and transfer mixture to sit on top of the fish skeleton. Serve immediately.