Sichuan Boiled Fish Recipe

This fish has out-of-this-world flavors that are extremely hot, strong, and delectable. However, this recipe moves quickly, so keep track of it by organizing and preparing your ingredients before you begin cooking. This dish is from the magnificent Lunar New Year feast prepared by Taiwanese-American chef Lisa Cheng Smith. Here is the rest of her menu.

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ALL Recipe info

Step 1

In a medium bowl, stir together the egg white, wine, cornstarch, grated ginger, salt, white pepper (if using), and 1 teaspoon of powdered Sichuan peppercorns. Place fish fillets in a basin with the marinade after thinly slicing them into 14" slices on the diagonal. While preparing the broth, toss the food to evenly coat it.

Step 2

Bring 1 tablespoon of oil to a medium-high heat in a large wok or deep skillet. Stir-fry the celery and bean sprouts for approximately a minute, or until crisp-tender. Place in a big, deep bowl.

Step 3

Six dried chiles should be seeded before being sliced into 14" pieces. In the same wok, add 1 tablespoon of oil and heat on medium-high. Add the whole Sichuan peppercorns, 6 whole dried chiles, 6 slices of dried chiles, and coarsely chopped garlic and simmer, stirring, until aromatic, about 1 minute. For approximately a minute, while stirring, add the bean paste and simmer until aromatic. Add the remaining 1 tsp. ground Sichuan peppercorns after adding the stock. up to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover wok (if you don't have a lid, use a baking sheet), and simmer for 15 minutes to flavor the broth.

Step 4

Lift the fish out of the marinade with your hands, brushing off any excess, and place it in the heated broth before throwing away the marinade. Cook for about 2 minutes on medium-low, or until barely opaque. Transfer the fish to the bowl with the celery and bean sprouts, placing them on top, and then carefully pour the broth over everything. Add cilantro and scallions on top.

Step 5

Clean the wok, add the final 4 tablespoons of oil, and heat on high until just smoking. Add the remaining 20 chiles, the finely chopped garlic, the gochugaru, the sesame seeds, and the last teaspoon of whole Sichuan peppercorns. Cook, stirring continuously, for about a minute, or until aromatic. Pour right away on top of the fish.

Reviews

I made this with Red Snapper and followed the recipe perfectly because I'm Caribbean and the amount of dried chillies didn't bother me. It was an HIT! For folks to add while they ate, I placed bowls of fresh cilantro, watercress, and sliced shallots on the table. It was excellent. Will undoubtedly prepare this again.

I included 1/4 teaspoon of ground sichuan peppercorns in the marinade and 1/4 in the finishing step because we were concerned about the heat after reading the reviews. Additionally, as we seldom eat dried chilis, we substituted jalapenos for them because we wanted the dish to have a bit more flavor. We used mahi mahi and enjoyed it; we'll offer this dish once more.

If prepared as written, this dish has a few flaws. In terms of spice intensity, I concur with the other ratings. I'm one of those people who truly enjoys heat, so leave out the final 20 chiles. Otherwise, a few sensible changes might make this recipe truly great.

Every time I make this soup, everyone loves it. Even though I often dislike fish soup, this is on another level. If you tweak the dried chilis, it's fiery but not deadly. I can't wait to find out what sort of peppers Bon Appetit used to add 32! The amount of dry chilis I used was 5–6 and the overall level of spice was 8–10; I believe they were facing heaven peppers with a few dried Thai chilis. Tilapia is the fish I always use.

I went halfsies on the peppers after taking a cue from the other reviewer. I also skipped the final garnish, choosing instead to top with only sesame seeds, cilantro, and scallions. I used Orange roughy, and it worked perfectly. My neighborhood Asian market made it simple to locate the ingredients. The meal was excellent! Just the appropriate amount of spice and flavor. With the aromatics and fermented chili paste, the broth was incredibly wonderful. For us Westerners, the amount of Szechuan pepper may be too much as indicated.

This was essentially inedible to me. There is simply WAY too much going on, so much so that I didn't even appreciate the spice (and I LOVE all spicy cuisine), but rather felt it to be punishing. Additionally, the recipe is worded in a rather perplexing manner. In general, I adore Bon Appetit and enjoy every recipe I create from it, but this was a total dud for me.