West Lake Vinegar Fish, a Sweet and Sour Dish

EVERYTHING BY: Taste Hong Kong

Ingredients:
300g grass carp 鯇魚with bone
Poaching fish
2-3 slices ginger, crushed
2 sprigs green onion, sectioned
1 1/4 C water
1/4 tsp sea salt
pinch of ground white pepper
Sauce and garnishing
1/2 tbsp cooking oil
1 tbsp julienned ginger, divided
1 tbsp julienned green onion
1/2 tbsp wine, I used Shaoxing Hua Diao
1 1/2 tbsp Chinese black vinegar, Zhejiang type preferred
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1/4 tsp dark soy sauce
1/4 tsp sesame oil
1 tbsp cornstarch paste (water:starch ~ 1:1; I sometimes use water chestnut powder)
pinch of sea salt to taste

Method:
Scale, rinse the fish and pat dry.

In a wok, pour in water with salt, ground white pepper, ginger slices and green onion. Bring them to a boil. Add fish, skin side down. Cover; adjust heat to medium. Simmer for about 3 minutes or until done (when buying the fish, I double-check with the fishmonger as how long it needs to be poached). Check doness – whether or not a chopstick can pass through.

Dish up fish and arrange it on dish. Reserve water, discarding ginger and green onion.

Heat oil in wok over medium heat, and sauté half of the ginger shreds until light brown. Splash wine against side and pour in reserved water. Add in vinegar, sugar, soy sauces, sesame oil, stirring to mix well (add some green onion to your liking). Thicken with corn starch paste or water chestnut paste to form a sauce. Check taste and add a pinch of salt (or adjust the sweetness and sourness) as required.

Pour sauce over poached fish. Garnish with ginger and green onion. I actually enjoy every bite of the fish with both ginger and green onion shreds in it than merely having them as garnishes. And, of course, also with the sweet and sour sauce.

Serve hot with rice.