Sichuan Lake Smelt
These Sichuan-style lake smelt are an explosion of flavour. The little fish pick up a unique texture and soak up all of the flavours from the aromatics.
Sichuan Lake Smelt
By Walleye Direct
Prep time:
15 minutes
Cook time:
10 minutes
Servings:
4
Ingredients
- ½ lb thawed lake smelt (gutted)
- Pinch of salt
- 1 teaspoon Shaoxing wine or cooking sherry
- Vegetable oil or lard for frying
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon fish stock (or water)
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- ½ teaspoon white sugar
- ½ teaspoon white pepper
- 2 scallions, trimmed and cut into 1″ pieces
- 1 thumb-size piece of ginger, peeled and sliced into thin coins
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
- Small handful of dried chilies
- 1 teaspoon ground Sichuan peppercorn
Instructions
- Toss the smelt in the salt and the Shaoxing wine and let them marinate for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, fill the bottom of a wok with at least 1 inch of oil to fry the fish in. Heat the oil to 350°F.
- Toss the fish in the corn starch, then fry in the oil. I recommend doing it in two or three batches, so as not to cool down the oil. Fry for 3-4 minutes, then transfer to a paper towel to drain. Dispose of all but 1 tablespoon of the oil in the wok.
- In a small bowl, make a sauce by combining the fish stock, soy sauce, sugar, and white pepper. Set aside.
- Heat the oil in the wok over high heat and add the scallions, ginger, garlic, and chilies. Stir fry for 1 minute.
- Add the fried fish, the Sichuan peppercorn powder, and the sauce. Stir fry for 1 more minute, then take it off the heat.
- To serve, dump the smelt into a bowl or onto a plate. Feel free to drizzle in chili oil or garnish with cilantro or sliced scallions. Enjoy!
