Fish, a Wok-Fried Wonder

A few years ago I posted a similar recipe to this wok-fried snapper for fish in chili bean sauce (doubanyu), but with the rather odd point of view of someone who struggled to make it, made a lot of mistakes, and put it on view anyway as proof that it ended up tasting good despite the mishaps. I have now made this popular Sichuan dish enough times that I don’t make all those errors. Which just goes to show that If you stick with wok cooking and fish cooking—two forms of cooking that often instill fear and apprehension—they actually get easy. Plus, I’ve changed the sauce a fair amount to suit our taste, dialing up the sweet-and-sour component to complement the spicy chili bean paste. Perhaps it will suit yours too!

The new wok-fried fish also reflects the maturation of my Sichuan pantry. I now have more of the perfect ingredients for this dish, because I’ve imported them myself for The Mala Market. So now that we are well on our way to importing most products used in everyday Sichuan cooking, I will be incorporating them more and more into our recipes. However, I realize that not everyone wants to build up a serious Sichuan pantry, so I will also make substitution recommendations in the Notes section of the recipes. Superior ingredients make for a superior dish, but Sichuan recipes are good regardless!

Two new products, in particular really dial this dish in. The jar pictured above with the red and yellow label is hongyou douban, or red-oil douban, which is Pixian chili bean paste with added chili oil. This may be the most popular version of douban in Sichuan, the daily go-to, both because it is less expensive than pure douban and also because it is redder, giving the food a pleasant red color. We are importing this product now, since it is the norm for stir-fries in Chengdu. Cooks often mix red-oil douban (for color) with regular douban (for taste), as I have here, adding a touch of 3-year doubanjiang to add some depth and funk. The two make a great combination for many dishes, but you can also just choose one for this dish.

On the far right in the photo is our new roasted rapeseed oil made in Sichuan (coming very soon now available to The Mala Market!). If you have ever been in a kitchen or around someone making a stir-fry in Sichuan, then you will recognize this extremely fragrant, nutty smell. Sichuan rapeseed oil (made from the same plant as canola but in a non-GMO version) retains the color and fragrance that is normally removed from a highly refined oil in pursuit of a neutral taste. But we don’t want a neutral taste! The taste of Sichuan rapeseed oil is an integral part of the taste of many Sichuan dishes.

The main change I’ve made to the process for wok-fried fish is to make two small fish instead of one large one. While it seems like this would be harder, it’s actually easier to fit a smaller fish in the wok and then to flip it over, even if you have to do it two times. I also want to convince you that fish never sticks in a well-seasoned wok. Never. It’s rather amazing! So don’t be afraid to fry this fish and bathe it in this glorious chili bean sauce. Even if you make some mistakes the first time, you will master it on the second.

For my previous wok-fried fish recipe, see Doubanyu: Fish in Pixian Doubanjiang (Chili Bean Sauce), 豆瓣鱼. For a different take on stovetop Chongqing fish, try Kathy’s Stovetop Chongqing Kaoyu (烤鱼): Wanzhou Grilled Fish!