Braised Carp

Ingredients

• 2 jin (about 1 kg) Carp
• 100 g Pork belly
• 200 g Spring onion
• 80 g Ginger
• 3-4 Garlic cloves
• 2 Dried chilli
• 50 g White sugar
• Oil
• 5 g Salt
• 50 ml Soy sauce
• 20 ml Dark soy sauce
• 50 ml Rice vinegar
• 5 ml Oyster sauce
• 50 ml Shaoxing wine
• Water

Method

Scale the carp's skin with the back of a knife, then gut it and rinse thoroughly. Score the thickest sections of the back diagonally — three or four cuts per side, about 5 mm deep — to breach the skin and allow the braising liquid to penetrate the flesh. This is essential; without scoring, the dense muscle cooks unevenly and resists flavour absorption. Cut the pork belly into 4 cm × 4 cm pieces. Slice ginger into 3 mm coins. Break the white parts of the spring onions into 4 cm batons. Crack three garlic cloves in half; mince the fourth for the finish. Split the dried chillies lengthways.

Heat oil in a large wok or braising pan to the point where it just begins to smoke — around 180°C. Lay the carp away from you to avoid splashing, then leave it undisturbed for 30 seconds. Only then turn it; the skin will have begun to set and won't tear. Fry for 90 seconds total until the skin firms and turns pale gold, then transfer to a plate. Pour off most of the oil, leaving a thin film.

Return the pan to medium heat and fry the pork belly until it releases its fat and turns translucent at the edges — about 3 minutes. Add the dried chilli, ginger, spring onion batons, and halved garlic. Fry for 45 seconds until fragrant, then nestle the carp back into the pan. Along the pan's edge (not over the fish), pour the Shaoxing wine, rice vinegar, both soy sauces, oyster sauce, salt, and sugar. Add water to just cover the fish. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then drop to a simmer and cover. Braising works through moist heat and time — 15 minutes is enough for carp's delicate flesh, which breaks apart if cooked past its point.

Remove the lid and fish out the ginger, spring onion, garlic, and chilli. These have done their work as aromatics, infusing the liquid; leaving them in turns the dish muddy and bitter. Raise the heat to high and reduce the sauce hard until it coats the fish in a glaze about 2 mm deep — roughly 5 to 8 minutes depending on your pan's width. The reduction concentrates the salt and vinegar, deepening the flavour from diffuse to sharp. Off the heat, scatter the minced garlic over the top and transfer everything to a serving dish.