A whole sea bass fried in the shape of a squirrel, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, coated in a glossy sweet and sour tomato sauce garnished with shrimp and peas. A classic Suzhou dish, adapted for home cooking.
Ingredients
- 2 pieces Whole sea bass, gutted and scaled
- 100 g T55 all-purpose flour
- 60 g Potato starch
- 4 tbsp Ketchup
- 3 tbsp Rice vinegar
- 3 tbsp Brown sugar
- 1 tbsp Light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine (or dry sherry)
- 100 g Peeled pink shrimp
- 50 g Shelled peas
- 1 piece Fresh ginger
- 2 cloves Garlic
- 1 piece Shallot
- 500 ml Frying oil (peanut or sunflower)
- to taste Salt
- to taste Ground white pepper
- 150 ml Water
Method
- Scale, gut, and rinse the sea bass. Starting from the back, open the fillets leaving the tail attached. Remove the central bone. Score the flesh in a crosshatch pattern down to the skin without piercing it. The motion should be clean, with the blade almost parallel to the skin.
- Season with salt and pepper, and drizzle with Shaoxing wine. Let rest while preparing the rest.
- Mix the flour and starch. Coat the fish, ensuring the mixture penetrates each cut. Shake off the excess while holding the fish by the tail.
- Heat the oil until a wooden chopstick dropped in sizzles. Hold the fish by the tail, plunge the head in first, then the body. Fry until the cuts spread into golden, crispy petals. Drain.
- Raise the heat to increase the oil temperature. Plunge the fish back in briefly until a very crispy crust forms. Drain and arrange on the platter, shaping it like a squirrel with the head raised and tail pointing up.
- Finely chop the ginger, garlic, and shallot. Heat a drizzle of oil in a wok and sauté the aromatics until fragrant. Add the shrimp and peas, and sauté until the shrimp turn pink.
- Pour the ketchup, rice vinegar, sugar, soy sauce, and water into the wok. Bring to a boil. Dissolve the starch in a little cold water and stir it in until the sauce becomes thick and glossy.
- Pour the piping hot sauce over the fried fish. The crust should sizzle on contact. Serve immediately.
Nutrition
Per serving
- Energy
- 427.9 kcal
- Protein
- 14.89 g
- Carbohydrate
- 43.54 g
- Fat
- 20.7 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
- Calcium
- 41.28 mg
- Iron
- 1.08 mg
- Magnesium
- 37.67 mg
