Xi Hu Cu Yu

Name: Xi Hu Cu Yu (West Lake Carp in Vinegar Sauce)
Yield: Serves 4 as Part of a Chinese Meal, or 2 as a Single Dish.
Cuisine: China
Ingredients: 1.1-1.4 kg/2½-3 lb fresh whole carp or catfish or 3 fresh whole trout; 2 tablespoons rice wine or dry sherry; 3 tablespoons light soy sauce; 1 teaspoon salt; 2 tablespoons peanut oil; 2 tablespoons finely chopped peeled fresh ginger root; 3 tablespoons finely chopped spring onions; 3 tablespoons black rice vinegar; 2 teaspoons rice wine or dry sherry; 2 tablespoons sugar; 2 tablespoons dark soy sauce; 125 ml/4 fl oz chicken stock; 2 teaspoons cornflour mixed with 2 teaspoons water

West Lake Carp in Vinegar Sauce

Preparation info

Serves
4
as Part of a Chinese Meal, or 2 as a Single Dish.

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

The Taste of China

By Ken Hom

Published 1990

About

Carp have been domesticated and kept in ponds for many centuries in China. Valued for their golden scales as well as for their tasty flesh, they have a distinctive, rich, strong flavour. The Chinese use rice wine or vinegar or a combination to bring zest to the rich flesh. I enjoyed this dish in the Lou Wai Lou restaurant in the city of Hangzhou, famous for its West Lake where carp comes from, and also near Shaoxing, the rice wine area.

It is no accident that this recipe c

Ingredients

Asia
China
Main course
Dinner

Ingredients

Method