For your next Chinese cooking adventure, try salted fried fish a la Sze Chuan restaurant
Try This at Home
Chinese food is always popular, probably because there is so much variety in the cuisine.
There are dishes made with meat, seafood and vegetables; tofu-, rice- and pasta-based dishes; fried dishes, and meals that are served crispy after being tossed in a wok.
There is also a lot of variety in the ingredients that go into these dishes. Walk into any Asian market and you’re likely to see many items you’ve never used before.
It’s a great cuisine when dining out, but it’s also fun to make the food at home.
But when you do, don’t make those standard Chinese dishes we all love to eat. Why not delve into a dish you’ve never tried before, or one with an unfamiliar ingredient to try?
A dish that fits this bill is the salted fried fish recipe that comes from Sze Chuan Restaurant at 11102 W National Ave. in West Allis.
Winnie Liang, manager, said this traditional Chinese dish is a recipe her customers love.
“I think people like it because the recipe makes our fish taste so good. And customers keep coming back for it.
“We didn't develop it. It is a popular dish in China and you can find it in many Chinese restaurants in America. But every restaurant has their own recipe, and that makes the difference,” she said.
Liang added that this dish comes from Hebei, a province in the north China region, and that ingredients that make it special are the ginger water and the potato starch.
“The ginger water can take the fishy taste away, and the potato starch makes the fish crispy.”
The restaurant has in-house dining and takeout you can order online from its website, goszechuanrestaurant.com.
Sze Chaun Restaurant Salted Fried Fish
Recipe tested by Joanne Kempinger Demski
Makes 2 servings
Ginger water:
- 4 cups water
- 1 ½ teaspoons grated fresh ginger
Fish:
- ½ cup ginger water
- 1 ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 pounds whitefish fillets (about 20 small fillets; see note)
- 4 cups potato starch
- 4 egg yolks
- 8 cups (about) vegetable oil to deep-fry
Topping:
- 1/3 cup diced green bell pepper
- 1/3 cup diced red bell pepper
- ½ cup diced jalapeño pepper
- 1/3 cup diced white onion
- 2 teaspoons dried shrimp powder (available at Asian markets)
- 1 teaspoon salt
For ginger water: Bring water to a boil. Add ginger to the water, remove from heat and let steep about 10 minutes. Strain liquid to remove ginger pieces, then let cool. You will need ½ cup to use in this recipe. Remaining ginger water can be used in other recipes or refrigerated and served as a beverage.
For fish: Combine ginger water and salt and let fish marinate in the mixture 30 minutes. Remove from marinade and discard liquid.
Put potato starch and egg yolks in separate shallow bowls. Dip fillets first in egg and then in potato starch, making sure the fillets are well-coated with both mixtures.
Heat oil to 350 degrees to deep-fry. Drop coated pierces of fish into hot oil and fry 4 to 5 minutes or until cooked through. Fish is done when it easily flakes with a fork.
Divide fish between two serving platters and then divide the topping between the two servings.
For topping: Set an unoiled shallow pan or wok over heat for 2 minutes or until water sizzles when dropped into the pan. When hot, add peppers, onion, shrimp powder and salt. Stir-fry 1 minute, then use to top fish.
Note: The tester got 10 fillets in the 2 pounds she purchased and cut them in half for this recipe.
Try This at Home brings the expertise of local chefs into your kitchen via a recipe, technique or tips. To suggest a chef or a restaurant or bakery recipe to feature, email Joanne Kempinger Demski at joanne.demski@jrn.com.