Sichuan Water-Boiled Fish

Ingredients

• 700g firm white fish fillets such as basa, sea bass or tilapia
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
• 1 egg white
• 2 tbsp potato starch
• 1/2 tsp white pepper
• 300g soy bean sprouts
• 2 celery sticks, sliced on the diagonal
• 2 tbsp Pixian chilli bean paste, chopped
• 1 tbsp pickled chilli paste
• 1 tbsp chopped ginger
• 6 garlic cloves, sliced
• 900ml chicken stock
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tsp sugar
• 25 dried Sichuan chillies, snipped and deseeded
• 1 tbsp whole Sichuan peppercorns
• 160ml neutral oil
• 3 spring onions, sliced
• small handful coriander

Before you cook

• Slice the fish on a shallow angle into pieces about 5mm thick and the size of a playing card
• Rinse the fish slices in cold water until the water runs clear, then pat them very dry
• Mix the fish with salt, Shaoxing wine, egg white, starch and white pepper, and rest it for fifteen minutes
• Snip the dried chillies open and shake out the seeds
• Set out a wide heatproof serving bowl

Steps

1. Heat two tablespoons of the oil in a wok over medium heat.
2. Add the chilli bean paste and pickled chilli paste and stir until the oil runs red, about one minute.
3. Add the ginger and sliced garlic and stir for twenty seconds.
4. Pour in the stock with the soy sauce and sugar, and bring it to the boil.
5. Add the bean sprouts and celery and cook for two minutes, then lift them into the serving bowl.
6. Reduce the heat until the broth is barely simmering.
7. Slip the fish slices in one by one and leave them completely undisturbed for two minutes, until they turn white and firm at the edges.
8. Ladle the fish and broth gently over the vegetables, keeping the slices whole.
9. Scatter the dried chillies and Sichuan peppercorns over the top.
10. Heat the remaining oil in a clean dry wok until it shimmers and a chilli dropped in sizzles instantly.
11. Pour the hot oil over the chillies and peppercorns in one steady stream.
12. Finish with spring onions and coriander and serve immediately with plenty of rice.