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Hóng Kitchen

Shui Zhu Yu (Water-Boiled Fish)

Chinese · Medium · Serves 4

Shui Zhu Yu (Water-Boiled Fish)
Shui Zhu Yu (Water-Boiled Fish)
The water-boiled canon's fish register and the chilli oil's own theatre: the velveted fish fillets poached to silk in the spiced broth, the whole poured over the bean sprouts' bed, and the final argument at the table — the raw chilli's heap and the Sichuan pepper's scatter over the fish, the smoking oil's pour at the last second, the "water-boiled" name the great joke of the Sichuan kitchen (the dish runs oil, not water, at its crown). The technique shares the water-boiled beef's (#42's B-tier master) whole doctrine; this record runs the fish's tenderer clock and the crown's own poured ceremony.

Quantities live in the recipe card.

The fish

  • the velveting's whisper

The broth's base

The crown and the pour

- The velveting's whisper and the fillet's clock: the fish slices massaged through the salt, wine, egg white and cornstarch, the 15-minute rest — the silk's own protection at the broth's brief poach (the suan cai yu's #82 shared law). - The crown's mise and the pour's readiness: the peppercorns and chilli segments measured to the small bowl, the 6 tbsp oil in its pot — the final pour's ceremony (the oil at the smoke, the crown's bloom, the table's theatre) the last 15 seconds of the dish's whole argument.
Step 1. The base's bloom and the broth's build — 8 minutes. The oil at the medium, the doubanjiang and the whole chillies fried 60 seconds to the red oil's release, the ginger and garlic through at the bloom — the stock poured in and brought to the simmer's 5 minutes, the wine and salt through: the spiced, gently fierce broth. Checkpoint — the broth runs the doubanjiang's red-brown body with the chillies' soft perfume — the base's argument built before the fish's entry, and the tasting spoon carrying the fermented depth behind the gentle heat.
Step 2. The fish's brief poach — 40 seconds. The broth at the rolling simmer, the velveted slices slipped in one at a time — the undisturbed 40 seconds to the opaque's turn, the pot pulled at the first moment — the whole poured over the bean sprouts' waiting bowl, the broth's strains through the fish's crown. Checkpoint — the fillets have turned the opaque's white and still hold their slice's shape at the pour (the thickest piece's test flakes at the chopstick's push) — the fish's own mercy-of-seconds clock, the master record's (#42's) shared law at the tenderer register.
Step 3. The crown's pour — the 15-second theatre. The raw Sichuan peppercorns and the chilli segments heaped over the fish's centre, the spring onion's greens over — and the 6 tbsp oil taken to the smoke's first wisp (roughly 230 °C) and poured over the heap at the table's moment: the crown's explosive bloom, the chilli and pepper's perfume detonating at the oil's fury. Checkpoint — the eating test at the first lift: the fish's silk beneath the crown's numbing-fire — the poached tenderness carrying the poured oil's aromatic fury (not the broth's dull boil), the bean sprout's crunch below — the "water-boiled" joke's whole punchline at the first bite, the oil's bloom the dish's actual name. Chef’s Note — the fish's 40-second clock and the pour's immediate service are the one argument's two halves: the poached fillet waits for no one (the seconds past the opaque the silk's own erosion), and the crown's bloom fades at the minute — the dish's whole service the theatre's timing, the bowls readied and the spoons waiting before the pour's moment. The restaurant's table-side pour and the home kitchen's same argument at the stove's side: the pot to the table, the pour at the crown.

Doneness & Quality Checkpoints

  • The base: the doubanjiang's bloom, the broth's fermented depth.
  • The fish: the velveting's whisper, the 40-second opaque, the shape's hold at the pour.
  • The crown: the raw heap's measure, the 230 °C pour, the bloom's instant perfume.

Finish & Plate

The bowl's own theatre at the table — the pour's bloom before the diners' eyes, the first spoon's flood — the rice's bowl the fire's honest companion, and the beer's cold the table's relief.

Shui Zhu Yu (Water-Boiled Fish)

Shui Zhu Yu (Water-Boiled Fish)

Prep: 30 minutes · Cook: 20 minutes · Total: About 50 minutes · Serves 4

Ingredients

The fish

  • 700 g firm white fish fillets (grass carp, sea bass or catfish), sliced to 5 mm
  • 1 tsp (5 g) salt, 1 tbsp (15 ml) Shaoxing wine, 1 egg white, 1 tbsp (10 g) cornstarch — the velveting's whisper

The broth's base

  • 200 g bean sprouts (or the celery's slices and the lettuce's rib), blanched to the bowl's bed
  • 3 tbsp (45 ml) neutral oil
  • 2 tbsp (30 g) doubanjiang, mashed; 6 whole dried chillies
  • 1 tbsp (10 g) ginger, sliced; 4 cloves garlic, sliced
  • 800 ml chicken or fish stock
  • 1 tbsp (15 ml) Shaoxing wine; 1 tsp (5 g) salt

The crown and the pour

  • 2 tbsp (20 g) whole Sichuan peppercorns
  • 3 tbsp (25 g) dried chilli segments (the flat, seeded cut)
  • 6 tbsp (90 ml) neutral oil, taken to the smoke
  • The spring onion's greens and the coriander's scatter

Instructions

  1. The base's bloom and the broth's build — 8 minutes. The oil at the medium, the doubanjiang and the whole chillies fried 60 seconds to the red oil's release, the ginger and garlic through at the bloom — the stock poured in and brought to the simmer's 5 minutes, the wine and salt through: the spiced, gently fierce broth. Checkpoint — the broth runs the doubanjiang's red-brown body with the chillies' soft perfume — the base's argument built before the fish's entry, and the tasting spoon carrying the fermented depth behind the gentle heat.
  2. The fish's brief poach — 40 seconds. The broth at the rolling simmer, the velveted slices slipped in one at a time — the undisturbed 40 seconds to the opaque's turn, the pot pulled at the first moment — the whole poured over the bean sprouts' waiting bowl, the broth's strains through the fish's crown. Checkpoint — the fillets have turned the opaque's white and still hold their slice's shape at the pour (the thickest piece's test flakes at the chopstick's push) — the fish's own mercy-of-seconds clock, the master record's (#42's) shared law at the tenderer register.
  3. The crown's pour — the 15-second theatre. The raw Sichuan peppercorns and the chilli segments heaped over the fish's centre, the spring onion's greens over — and the 6 tbsp oil taken to the smoke's first wisp (roughly 230 °C) and poured over the heap at the table's moment: the crown's explosive bloom, the chilli and pepper's perfume detonating at the oil's fury. Checkpoint — the eating test at the first lift: the fish's silk beneath the crown's numbing-fire — the poached tenderness carrying the poured oil's aromatic fury (not the broth's dull boil), the bean sprout's crunch below — the "water-boiled" joke's whole punchline at the first bite, the oil's bloom the dish's actual name.

Troubleshooting

SymptomCauseFix
Fish shredded to the cloudThe clock past the opaque, or the crowd's clumpThe 40-second pull; the slices slipped one at a time
Crown's fire raw, not bloomedThe oil's heat shyThe smoke's first wisp — the 230 °C law
Dish's heat dull, the broth's argumentThe crown simmered, not pouredThe raw heap and the smoking pour — the family's law

Storage, Make-Ahead & Variations

- The dish serves the pour's moment — the fish's silk and the crown's bloom same-minute arguments; the leftover's broth (the crown strained) the noodle bowl's own fiery dividend. - The shui zhu canon's family runs the beef's (#42's) master, the fish's record here, and the pork's tenderloin register — the identical doctrine's three proteins. The suan cai yu's (#82's) sour-bright broth the gentler soup-pot argument beside this dish's poured fire. - The canon's seat: the shui zhu family's fish register — the silk's mercy and the poured crown's theatre — at the Sichuan fire canon's own showpiece seat.