I am so excited! A friend, whose crab-eating credentials come from places like Red Lobster and All-You-Can-Eat buffets became so inspired by my Crabby Dinner blog, that she braved into an exotic Asian Supermarket, bought a live dungeness crab, and cooked it herself!! This has prompted me to want to share another one of my favorite dishes: Braised Whole Fish.

I make this dish about once a week or every 2 weeks. My family loves it. My children particularly love this dish’s sauce. This sauce is great on white rice. Whenever I make this dish, I always remember to make extra rice to support the kids’ “more rice with sauce please….” habit.

This dish is very flavorful. It might look a bit intimidating to make, but it is very simple. I don’t like to remember or look up recipes while I cook, so everything I make has to be easy.

Key ingredients:

Fish: A mid-sized 1 to 2 lb fish. I like to use Tilapia, Striped bass. I have also used this same recipe for filet of salmon, or Sea Bass Steak.

Garlic: 3 or 4 cloves of garlic, coarsely chopped.

Ginger: ¼ cup of ginger cut into about 2 inch length, thinly sliced.

Green onion: 2 strings of green onion, cut into about 2 inch length, thinly sliced.

Cooking wine: ¼ cup of cooking wine.

Dark Soy Sauce: ¼ cup of dark soy sauce.

Light Soy Sauce: ¼ cup of light soy sauce.

Sugar: ¼ cup of sugar.

Vinegar: 1/3 cup of dark vinegar.

Water: ¼ cup of water.

Cooking oil: ½ cup of cooking oil.

Preparation: Cook time: 15 min.

1. Put some of the garlic, ginger, and green onion into the cleaned fish’s stomach.

2. Prepare the frying pan with cooking oil.
3. When the cooking oil is hot. Put about half of the remaining garlic, ginger, and green onion into the frying pan.

4. Then carefully lower the fish into the frying pan. Cook on high heat for about 3-5 minutes.
5. Put the rest of the garlic, ginger, and green onion on top of the fish, then carefully flip the fish to braise the other side.
6. Add half of the suggested amount of cooking wine, dark and light soy sauce, sugar, and vinegar evenly onto the fish. Cook on high heat for about 3-5 minutes.

7. Flip the fish again.
8. Now add the remaining half of the cooking wine, dark and light soy sauce, sugar, and vinegar evenly onto this side of the fish.
9. Turn the heat to medium heat, add the water, cover and simmer until the fish has been cooked for a total of about 15 minutes.
Optional: just add more water prior to simmering if you want more of the sauce.

Enjoy!

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