Prosperous Fish 年年有余

Prosperous Fish 年年有余

 

The name of this dish in Chinese (nian nian you yu  年年有余) means there is remainder every year or there is fish every year. The play is on the word ‘yu’ which can mean fish 鱼 or remainder 余

Recipe source :  Adapted from a cookbook, "Regional Chinese Cooking"

 

Ingredients

 

1/2 kg fish
2 egg yolks ( lightly beaten )
cornflour to coat the fish
1 tbsp minced garlic
a carrot (remove the skin and grate it)
a cucumber (remove the skin and grate the outer layer only)
1 stalk spring onion - use the white part only (shred)
 cooking oil for deep-frying

Marinade Ingredients for the fish

 

1 tbsp rice wine
2 stalks spring onion, (crushed to pulp and squeeze out the juice)
1/2 inch ginger ( crushed to pulp and squeeze out the juice)
1 tsp salt

Sauce Ingredients

6 tbsp sugar
5 tbsp vinegar
6 tbsp tomato sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp cornflour

Dissolve the above in 1/2 a bowl of water

If you want the fish to look like in the photo you need to slit it into nearly half on the underside, then spread it out and push the head down. Do it before you start frying in the oil. If you use insufficient oil then you need to use a ladle to scoop up oil from the wok to pour it over the fish otherwise the top part won't cook.

The grated carrot

The grated cucumber

The grater

Instructions

 

1.  Make diagonal cuts on the fish down to the bone
2.  Use marinade to rub over the fish and the insides of the cut fish. Set aside for 30 minutes
3.  Dip fish in egg yolk and coat with cornflour
4.  Heat oil in a wok and deep-fry the fish over medium fire for 5 to 6 minutes until the batter is crisp. Remove fish and place on a large plate
5.  In a clean wok, heat 2 tbsp oil and stir-fry garlic and spring onion till fragrant.
6.  Add sauce ingredients and bring to the boil. Add a little more water if the sauce becomes too thick.
7.  Pour sauce over the fish.


Note: The grated carrot and cucumber taste great when dipped into the sauce.

 

I am submitting this post to Chinese New Year Delights 2013

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