Braised River fish with Sweet Ginger Soy Sauce

what do we need

• One piece of whole river fish, bass, mandarin or garupa
• 1 tbsp of Dark soy sauce          
• 1 tsp of sugar
• 300 ml of stock                
• 90 ml vegtable oil
• Pinch of Salt
• One small handful chopped spring onions
• 2 tsp of Starch
• 1 nose of ginger
• 1 tbsp of yellow rich wine

At most of open food market in shanghai, you are able to find a selection of fresh fish from local fish men, whom also would provide cleaning service for the fish.

When you get the fish on your kitchen table, use a kitchen paper to dry the fish flesh, and airing it for few minutes. In the meanwhile, you can heat up the wok, use half of the ginger to clean the wok thoroughly in order to avoid the stickiness of the fish, pour oil

into it and wait for the oil temperature raise up, then slowly sliding the fish in the wok, sear fry it until the golden colour shows on both side of fish.

When it gets done, drizzling few drops of rice wine to wok, and add in the stock, soy sauce, sugar, salt and ginger. Get a lid to cover the wok for 10mins, bring the sauce to boil, then simmer it. When the sauce has reduced by half, you can add in some starch to thicken it.

Serve the whole fish on plate, pour the sauce over the fish, and sprinkle some spring onion on the top as garnish.

This cooking method for fish has been well adopted by most of shanghainess over the years. You find it always served as a very common main course dish on every family’s dinning table. The locals could have it everyday but to use different types of fish. The sweetened soy sauce brings out rich flavour, which is the key of the Shanghainess cuisine. 

Although the river fish has more small bones compare to sea fish, but local people all smart enough to pick them out, as well as they deal with hairy crabs.