Five-Spice Carp

Name: Five-Spice Carp
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients: 30 ml/2 tbsp vegetable oil, plus extra for deep-frying; 30 ml/2 tbsp cornflour/cornstarch; 15 ml/1 tbsp sesame oil; 25 g/1 oz fresh root ginger, chopped; 2.5 ml/½ tsp caster/superfine sugar; 30 ml/2 tbsp dark soy sauce; 30 ml/2 tbsp Shaoxing wine or dry sherry; 2.5 ml/½ tsp caster/superfine sugar; 30 ml/2 tbsp cornflour/cornstarch; 1 large carp (about 600 g/1 lb 5 oz), cleaned and fins removed; 30 ml/2 tbsp Shaoxing wine or dry sherry; 5 ml/1 tsp rice wine or vinegar; 5 ml/1 tsp rice wine or vinegar; 2.5 ml/½ tsp five-spice powder; chopped spring onions/scallions and fresh coriander/cilantro leaves, to garnish; chopped spring onions/scallions and fresh coriander/cilantro leaves, to garnish; chopped spring onions/scallions and fresh coriander/cilantro leaves, to garnish; chopped spring onions/scallions and fresh coriander/cilantro leaves, to garnish

Preparation info

Serves
4

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

China

By Terry Tan

Published 2020

About

Carp is a favourite freshwater fish often used in Chinese cooking, and in this Sichuan dish it is imbued with ginger and the quintessential Chinese seasoning, five-spice powder, which gives the dish its pronounced flavour.

Ingredients

1 large carp (about 600 g/1 lb 5 oz), clean

Asia
China
Sichuan
Fish course
Pescatarian

Method

Coat the carp with cornflour and shake off the excess. Heat the oil for deep-frying in a wok or deep-fryer to 190ºC/375ºF and add the carp. Deep-fry until crisp. Lift out and drain on kitchen paper.
Heat a large frying pan or the cleaned wok with the 30 ml/