WHEN YOU REMEMBER FISH

For some cooking techniques the words used are not standard, though everybody will know exactly what you mean. Such as the term 㸆 ('kaau'): to first boil, then simmer, then intensify the flavours and thicken the "sauce" by rapid boiling again. Properly done the liquid becomes a silky emulsion that will not seperate into broth and oil when the dish is served.

蔥㸆鯽魚 / 蔥燒鯽魚

Spring onion cooked crucian carp (蔥燒鯽魚 ('chong siu jik yü'). Crucian carp (kroeskarper, keruuske) has a sweetness coupled with a slight muddiness, which may be corrected by soaking them briefly in salted water with some ginger and vodka added. The common way to cook them is to first gild some thick slices of ginger in oil in the wok, then slide in the fish and fry briefly on both sides. Decant, sautée a rather large quantity of segmented scallion well, place the fish on this and add a generous splash of sherry or rice wine, a jigger of dark soy sauce, and a tablespoon or so of sugar, plus a splash of water. Cook on a high boil to unify the flavours, turn heat low and simmer a while, and at the appropriate time raise the heat again to reduce the liquids to a rich velvety sauce.

The cities of Wuxi (無錫 'mou sek'), Suzhou (蘇州 'sou jau'), and to an extent Shanghai (上海 'seung hoi') are heartlands of Su Cuisine (蘇菜 'sou choi'). Shanghainese and Suzhouese in particular love dishes which have been cooked like the one above, with a sweetish velvety sauce highlighting the freshness of the main ingredient and adding a puckery almost smoky quality. Various fresh water fish, shrimp, and river eel benefit from it
And chicken wings so cooked are very appealing.

色香味
Colour, fragrance, and flavour.

Being a Dutchman myself, and thus given license for heresy, I would add chopped pickled mustard tubers (榨菜 'jaa choi') and some chili flakes or a squidge of hot sauce.
And instead of dark soy sauce, ketjap manis.

Rice would be the main starch, but thick noodles are also appropriate. If you choose the latter, some peanuts and fried pork bits can be added (flavoured with dark soy and a splash of rice wine or sherry to seethe).

And you've probably heard me say that everything goes with sambal.
Which, really, it does.


Crucian carp is best first fast fried, then slow. Whatever you do else should take this into account. And, if done properly, the bones will be crispy-crunch-flaky, the flesh soft, well-cooked, and toothsome (骨酥肉爛 'gwat sou yiuk laan').


Earlier my apartment mate had asked me what Chinese vinegar was used for. The short answer was: food. But more particularly Jiangsu and Shanghai food. Specifically fish and sweet and sour preparations. Dark vinegar, of course, is added as a drizzle or dip in many Chinese cuisines. Given her ancestry she is most familiar with Toishanese and American Chinese dishes. And I am the culinary know-it-all in this household, so of course I would have answers. If what you like to eat is not really available, it behooves you to know how to make it yourself. There are few Dutch foodies in San Francisco. That is to say, I have not met any others. In that regard it's Siberia.


The dish above does NOT use vinegar. But I was reminded of it by a remembered taste in the mouth.



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