Braised Carp with Chinese Cabbage

Ingredients

• 10 ml Cooking oil
• 3 slices Ginger
• 3 cloves Garlic
• 1.2 jin Carp
• 13 leaves Baby Chinese cabbage
• 5-8 g Salt
• 3 ml Dark soy sauce
• 6 ml Light soy sauce
• 1 piece Cassia bark
• 3 whole Star anise
• 20 g Pixian bean paste
• 4-6 whole Dried chilli

Method

Scale the carp to remove any surface slime, then gut and clean it thoroughly under running water. Score the flesh on both sides with diagonal cuts spaced 1 cm apart, cutting through skin and halfway into the meat — this opens capillaries and increases the surface area for absorption of the braising liquid and umami-loaded aromatics.

Heat 10 ml oil in a wok or heavy-bottomed braising pot over medium heat. Once shimmering, add the ginger slices, garlic cloves, and cassia bark. Fry for 90 seconds until the oil takes on colour and the kitchen fills with a sharp, warming aroma — you're building the aromatic-infusion base. Crack open the star anise and add them now along with the Pixian bean paste. Stir for another minute. The bean paste's fermented salts and chilli heat will perfume the oil; don't let it burn on the base or the dish turns bitter.

Lay the carp into the pot — it will sizzle aggressively. Leave it untouched for 90 seconds to form a light crust on the underside, then turn and repeat on the other side. This isn't browning in the traditional sense but rather setting the skin so it doesn't disintegrate during the long braise. Pour in enough water to come three-quarters up the fish's height — full submersion steams rather than braises and muddles the flavour. Add the light and dark soy sauces, then nestle the baby Chinese cabbage around the carp.

Bring the pot to a rolling boil, then reduce to a gentle but consistent simmer on high heat for 18-22 minutes. The collagen in the fish's skin and bones will hydrate and thicken the braising liquid into a silken consistency; you'll see it happen after about 12 minutes when the top surface becomes glossy. The cabbage will soften and absorb the brackish, savoury liquid without collapsing. Taste at the 18-minute mark — the natural salt from soy and bean paste means you need less added salt than the recipe suggests. Start with 5 g, taste, then add more only if necessary. Serve the carp in its pot, spooning the reduced braising liquid and softened cabbage directly onto warm rice.