Kaili Sour Soup Fish

Ingredients

• 1 whole grass carp or sea bass, about 900 g, cut into 4 cm steaks
• 1 tsp salt, for the fish
• 1 tbsp rice wine
• 300 ml Guizhou red sour soup base (hong suan tang)
• 400 g very ripe cherry tomatoes, halved
• 100 g pickled red chillies, chopped
• 200 ml rice-washing water, left to sour for 2 days at room temperature
• 30 g ginger, sliced
• 6 garlic cloves, sliced
• 1 tsp mountain pepper oil (mu jiang zi), or 1 tsp toasted ground Sichuan pepper
• 3 tbsp rapeseed oil
• 200 g soft tofu, cut into slabs
• 150 g bean sprouts
• 100 g bamboo shoots, sliced
• 1 tsp salt, for the soup
• 4 tbsp ground toasted dried chilli
• 40 g fish mint (zhe'ergen), chopped
• 20 g coriander, chopped
• 2 tbsp fermented bean curd, mashed
• 2 spring onions, sliced

Before you cook

• Cut the fish into 4 centimetre steaks, rub with 1 teaspoon of salt and the rice wine, and leave for 15 minutes.
• Halve the cherry tomatoes and chop the pickled chillies.
• Slice the ginger, garlic and bamboo shoots, and cut the tofu into slabs.
• Make each diner a dipping bowl by mixing the ground chilli, fish mint, coriander, mashed fermented bean curd and spring onion between four small bowls.

Steps

1. Heat the rapeseed oil in a wide casserole over medium heat.
2. Add the ginger, garlic and pickled chillies and fry for 2 minutes until fragrant.
3. Tip in the halved cherry tomatoes and cook for 6 minutes, pressing them until they slump and release their juice.
4. Pour in the red sour soup base and the soured rice water.
5. Add 400 millilitres of water and bring the pot to a simmer.
6. Simmer the broth uncovered for 10 minutes so the flavours join up.
7. Season the soup with 1 teaspoon of salt and the mountain pepper oil, then taste it and adjust the salt.
8. Slide in the bamboo shoots and the tofu slabs and simmer for 3 minutes.
9. Lower the fish steaks into the broth in a single layer.
10. Poach the fish at a bare simmer for 7 minutes, without stirring, until the flesh turns opaque at the bone.
11. Scatter the bean sprouts over the top and cook for 1 minute more.
12. Carry the pot to the table and ladle a little hot broth into each dipping bowl to loosen the chilli.
13. Let everyone lift out fish and dip it before drinking the soup.