Description
A Sichuan-derived exquisite fish dish where a whole carp or tilapia is fried once, then sweet/spicy braised in a special sauce of massive 'La Doubanjiang' (Spicy bean paste), garlic, and scallions.
Restaurants serving Fish in Spicy Bean Sauce
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On this site you can check dictionary details and, later, places to buy or eat related items.
The Recipe section below is a general reference, not a recipe from the listed shops.
Recipe
Ingredients
- Whole river fish(Carp or Tilapia)
- Doubanjiang
- Garlic
- Scallions
- Sugar
- Soy sauce
Instructions
- [Authentic Recipe]
- [Fish Prep] Prepare a whole 'Carp' or 'Wu Guo Yu (Tilapia)' (gutted/gilled) commonly eaten in Taiwan, score deep crosses on both sides.
- Wipe moisture, 'shallow-fry' both sides golden in high-temp oil to tighten meat and remove odor.
- [Doubanjiang Sauce] Heat oil in a wok, fragrantly sauté massive minced garlic, ginger, and the absolute key flavor 'La Doubanjiang' (~
- tbsp).
- Add water (or pork broth), wine, soy sauce, sugar, a little black vinegar.
- Put the shallow-fried fish in the wok, baste sauce over it with a spoon (Jiao Zhi) while simmering on low for 10-
- mins.
- Remove fish, thicken remaining sauce with potato starch slurry.
- Scatter plenty of scallions over the fish, pour the piping hot thick sauce to finish.
Learn more Spice, substitutes, tips
Key spices
Rich heat of Doubanjiang and garlic
Substitutes at Japanese supermarkets
Sea Bream or Flounder fillets (sub with Japanese super fish)
Pairing
White Rice or Taiwan Beer
Trivia
[For Adults] Brought to Taiwan by Waishengren (especially Sichuanese) and established. Frying once and Doubanjiang's intense flavor completely cancel the river fish's muddy smell, resulting in an 'umami-spicy braised fish' surprisingly suited for rice. The gelatin around the fish eyes is considered the most delicious.
Eating tips & etiquette
[Unique Eating] Flake the fluffy white meat with chopsticks, coat it heavily in the bright red 'gooey Doubanjiang sauce', put it over white rice sauce-and-all to shovel down like Mapo Tofu!
Allergen
Seafood, Soy, Wheat (from soy sauce)