West Lake Vinegar Fish

Overview

West Lake vinegar fish, also known as Shusao Chuanzhen and Songsao fish, is a famous traditional dish in Hangzhou, Zhejiang. Generally, grass carp is used to make West Lake vinegar fish, but since I didn't buy grass carp, I could only use sea bass instead. After the fish is cooked, the sweet and sour vinegar sauce is poured on it. The fish is crispy and tender due to the deep-frying, and it is very delicious with the sauce

Tags

• hot dishes
• chinese banquet
• zhejiang cuisine
• old man
• dinner with friends
• lunch
• dinner
• famous dishes
• students
• aged vinegar
• bass
• cooking wine
• edible oil
• onions
• starch
• white sugar
• green pepper
• red pepper
• salt

Ingredients

Steps

1. 1 Cut off the fish head

   

2. 2 Cut fish with flower knife

   

3. 3 The shape after cutting is as shown

   

4. 4 Use a flower knife to cut the fish on both sides, making it as deep as possible

   

5. 5 Marinate with salt, chicken essence, and cooking wine for 5 minutes (thick fish can be marinated for longer), and directly coat with dry starch

   

6. 6 The fish head is also wrapped in dry starch

   

7. 7 Heat the oil for 6 layers and fry the fish head for about 2-3 minutes

   

8. 8 Fried fish body

   

9. 9 When frying the fish, turn it over on both sides. Do not turn it too early to avoid starch falling out

   

10. 10 Fry until the body of the fish begins to turn yellow, about 6-10 minutes (the frying time will vary depending on the size of the fish), then take it out and set aside

    

11. 11 Chopped green and red peppers

    

12. 12 Add the green and red peppers to the pan and stir-fry for a while

    

13. 13 Add vinegar, water, and sugar (you can add a little more sugar if you don’t like it too sour)

    

14. 14 The sauce is boiled and the green and red peppers are cooked

    

15. 15 Thicken the gravy with water starch and add green onions

    

16. 16 Pour the sauce over the fish while it's still hot

    

17. 17 Finished product