Whenever I visit a Sichuan restaurant, I have to order the Shui Zhu Yu (water fish). To me, this dish is the measure of authenticity for the entire menu. The numbing, peppery flavour is one I crave for often. After eating different versions of Shui Zhu Yu at many Toronto restaurants, and making it at home using pre-packaged spice mixes, The Hubby and I decided to try making the recipe from scratch. I was surprised with how easy it was to make and how well it turned out. However, I did have a secret ingredient available, Sichuan peppercorns straight from China that were incredibly fragrant (much more than the ones I’ve bought in Toronto). I would adjust the number of peppercorns and peppers depending on personal preference and the strength of the spices.
- 2 large basa fish fillets (2 cups sliced into chunks)
- 2 tbsp rice wine
- 3 tsp Sichuan peppercorns, finely ground
- 1/2 cup oil, seperated into two 1/2 cups
- 3 cloves of garlic, chopped
- 1 inch chunch of ginger, sliced
- 3 green onions
- 1/8 cup ground red chilies
- 1/4 cup dried red chili peppers
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 star anise
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 tsp fennel seeds
- 2 tbsp spicy doubanjian, fermented soybean paste
- 4 cups bean sprouts (or more)
- 2 cups water
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- salt to taste
- 1 cup of cilantro, chopped
- Marinate the basa fillets in cooking wine for 15 min.
- Grind the peppercorns until fine, I used a manual coffee grinder for this.
- Roughly chop the green onions into 1 inch long sections.
- In a pot on medium heat, add half the oil, garlic, ginger, half of the green onions, ground red chilies, dried red peppers, bay leaves, star anise, cinnamon stick and fennel seeds. Stir until the garlic begins to brown and the spices become fragrant.
- Add the doubanjian to the pan and stir constantly. Add the water, soy sauce and bring the pot to a boil.
- Add the fish slices to the pot, making sure there's enough liquid to cover the fish. Cook until the flesh turns opaque. Once the fish is cooked, add the bean sprouts to the boiling pot, pushing them to the bottom. The bean sprouts just need to be blanched for 1-2 minutes.
- In another pan on medium heat, heat up the remaining oil until it just begins to smoke.
- Top the fish with the remaining green onions, ground Sichuan power, additional dried pepper s (optional), in a pile. Pour the hot oil onto this pile before serving.
Assemble spices and grind Sichuan peppercorns
Assemble ingredients
Chop fish into chunks
Marinate fish in cooking wine
Stir fry the ginger, garlic and spices on medium heat until aromatic
Stir fry the ginger, garlic and spices on medium heat until aromatic
Add doubanjiang
Add water, soy sauce and fish, cook until the fish becomes opaque
Add remaining green onions and ground Sichuan peppercorn, pour over with hot oil
What is the purposed of pouring the other half of the heated oil on top of the fish at the end?
The purpose is to pour the oil onto the raw green onion, spices and peppers, this brings out their fragrance much more.
The greatest soup in the world! Thanks for sharing. I’m adding slightly boiled Chinese cabbage instead of sprouts…