Deep-Fried Whole Fish with Meat and Vegetable Sauce

The blanketing sauce for a deep-fried fish may be sweet and sour, as in the preceding recipe, or this meat and vegetable sauce.

The long list of ingredients creates a false impression of complexity; actually it is not at all complicated or hard to make. In reality, this recipe involves cooking two dishes, then combining them into one. The fish and sauce can be cooked separately at the same time, but until you can do this easily, make the sauce first and then reheat it just before th