Pickled Vegetable Crucian Carp

Pickled Vegetable Crucian Carp

　　Pickled Vegetable Crucian Carp is made by frying and braising crucian carp with pickled vegetables. The finished dish features tender fish meat with a delicious, slightly spicy, savory, and salty flavor. Pickled Vegetable Fish originally began as a homestyle dish from Sichuan’s countryside, easily prepared in most households. Later, Sichuan restaurants introduced this folk delicacy to their menus. Thanks to its authentic local Sichuan flavors, it quickly became a hit with diners and eventually earned the status of a renowned dish.

Its preparation method is as follows: Select five crucian carp of similar size, clean them thoroughly, and make two diagonal slashes on each side of the fish. Finely shred the pickled vegetables. Heat a wok over high heat, add oil, and heat until it reaches about 200°C. Place the fish in the wok and deep-fry until the skin is firm. Drain off some of the oil, leaving about 100 grams in the wok. Push the fish to the side of the wok using a spatula, then add minced pickled red chili peppers, chopped scallions, minced ginger and garlic, and fermented glutinous rice wine. Stir-fry until fragrant, then move the fish back to the center of the wok. Add fresh broth, light soy sauce, and dark soy sauce. Once the broth comes to a boil, add the pickled vegetables and continue cooking for about 10 minutes. Remove the fish and place it on a serving plate. In the wok, add vinegar and chopped scallions, thicken the sauce with a thin cornstarch slurry, and pour it over the fish to serve.

The essence of Pickled Vegetable Fish lies in its uniquely distinctive pickled vegetables. There is a wide variety of Sichuan pickles: pickled chili peppers, pickled ginger, pickled sour mustard greens, pickled cowpeas, pickled radishes, pickled cabbage, and more. Practically any vegetable can be pickled. Even chicken feet are pickled to develop a uniquely flavorful taste. Pickled chili peppers and pickled ginger are essential ingredients in Sichuan cuisine for removing fishy odors. They are used to season stir-fried, braised, simmered, sautéed, or deep-fried dishes made with pork, beef, lamb, fish, chicken, or duck. Even in simple vegetable dishes like stir-fried shredded pumpkin, the presence or absence of pickled ginger and chili peppers makes a significant difference in flavor. Pickled sour mustard greens are indispensable in making pickled vegetable fish. In the dish Jiangmen Meat Tofu Flower, the role of pickled sour mustard greens is even more prominent. In spicy and sour soup, the broth infused with pickled chili peppers, pickled ginger, and pickled sour mustard greens creates a rich and lingering flavor that stimulates the appetite, offering a strong contrast to clear broths.