Whole bream, plump grey mullet or carp in sweet and sour sauce

Name: Whole bream, plump grey mullet or carp in sweet and sour sauce
Cuisine: China
Ingredients: a little plain flour, to coat the fish; sea salt; 1 fish, about 1 kg/2¼ lb, scaled, gutted and all fins, including tail if wished, removed (the head can also be removed if preferred, although personally I like to leave the head and tail on, it is more authentic and looks better on the plate!); 1 garlic clove, peeled and finely chopped; ½ small can bamboo shoots, thinly sliced, rinsed and dried; 50 g/2 oz water chestnuts, thinly sliced, rinsed and dried; 1 red pepper, deseeded and pith removed, cut into very thin strips, about 3.5 cm /1½ inches long; vegetable oil, for shallow-frying; 2 or 3 spring onions, trimmed and finely chopped; 2 thin slices peeled fresh root ginger, finely chopped; a good dash of rice wine, sake or dry sherry; 150 ml/5 fl oz fish stock; 2 dessertspoons caster sugar; a couple of shakes of soy sauce; 1 small sherry glass of white wine vinegar; at least 1 teaspoon chilli sauce (more if you like it spicy); 2 teaspoons cornflour

Preparation info

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Floyd's China

By Keith Floyd

Published 2005

About

Ingredients

1 fish, about 1 kg/2¼ lb, scaled, gutted and all fins, including tail if wished, removed (the head can also be removed if preferred, although p

Asia
China
Fish course
Pescatarian

Method

Make several diagonal cuts on each side of the fish and rub in salt, then dredge the fish in flour to coat it and shake off any excess.
Heat a wok or large frying pan, add some oil and gently fry the fish for 3-4 minutes on each side until browned and crispy. Transfer the fish to a suitable serving platter and keep warm.
Wipe the wok clean with a piec