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West Lake vinegar fish
西湖醋鱼 xīhú cù yú — Hangzhou's poached fish in a glossy sweet-and-sour vinegar sauce
ChineseHangzhou restaurants by West Lake have served this for generations, traditionally with grass carp kept in clean water for a day or two before cooking. The fish is not fried at all: it is butterflied, poached for a few minutes, and coated with a shiny, dark sauce of black vinegar and sugar that tastes sharp first and sweet after. The flesh should be tender enough to fall from the bone at a touch. Carp, sea bass or a thick white fish fillet all work at home. Eat it with rice and a simple stir-fried green vegetable. Chef's tip: thicken the sauce at the last moment and pour it straight over; left to sit, it turns gluey.
- Total time
- 40 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the fish
- 2 lb whole carp or sea bassscaled and gutted
- 5 slices fresh ginger
- 2 spring onionscut in half
For the sauce
- 4 tbsp Chinese black vinegar
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 1 ½ tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp Shaoxing wineor the same amount of chicken stock with 1 tsp rice vinegar (alcohol-free)
- 1 tbsp fresh gingerfinely chopped
- 1 ½ tbsp cornflourmixed with 3 tbsp water
To serve
- 1 tbsp fresh ginger (optional)cut into fine threads
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What you'll need
Spices & pantry
Fresh ingredients (2)
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Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Rinse 2 lb whole carp or sea bass inside and out and pat dry. Cut it in half lengthways along the backbone, leaving the two halves joined at the belly, so it opens flat like a book. Make 3 shallow cuts across the thicker side.
Step 2: Bring a wide pan or wok of water, deep enough to cover the fish, to the boil with 5 slices fresh ginger and 2 spring onions. Lower in the fish skin side up and turn the heat down so the water barely simmers.
5 minStep 3: Poach for 3–4 minutes, until the flesh turns opaque and flakes when pressed at the thickest point, 145°F (145 °F). A common mistake is letting the water boil: the fish breaks apart before you can lift it.
4 minStep 4: Lift the fish out with two fish slices, drain well and lay it on a warm platter. Keep 200 ml of the poaching water.
Step 5: Put the 200 ml poaching water in a small pan with 4 tbsp Chinese black vinegar, 3 tbsp sugar, 1 ½ tbsp light soy sauce, 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine and 1 tbsp fresh ginger. Bring to the boil over a medium-high heat and stir until the sugar dissolves.
3 minStep 6: Stir 1 ½ tbsp cornflour again and pour it in, stirring all the time, for about 1 minute, until the sauce is glossy and coats a spoon.
1 minStep 7: Pour the hot sauce over the whole fish at once, scatter with 1 tbsp fresh ginger and serve immediately with rice.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 250 kcal
- Protein
- 30 g
- Carbs
- 17 g
- Fat
- 6 g
- Fibre
- 0 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does west Lake vinegar fish take?
- About 40 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 25 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- What can I use instead of fresh ginger?
- ¼ tsp ground ginger per tbsp fresh (add it with the spices).
- What can I use instead of spring onions?
- Chives, or a little finely sliced onion.
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