BRAISED FISH WITH DEEP-FRIED BEAN CURD

Steps:

• 1. Have fish cleaned and scaled, but left whole. Rinse in cold water. Dry well, inside and out, with paper toweling and score on both sides. Sprinkle fish with the salt and let stand 10 minutes. Then coat lightly with flour. 2. Shred ginger root. Cut scallion in 1/2-inch sections. 3. Cut each bean curd cake in 9 cubes. Heat oil to bubbling and deep-fry bean curd until light golden. Drain on paper toweling. 4. Heat the second quantity of oil until nearly smoking. Add salt, then fish brown well on each side (about 3 minutes). Remove from pan. 5. Heat remaining oil. Add remaining salt, along with shredded ginger root, and stir-fry a few times. Add water and bring to a boil. 6. Add fish and bean curd. Top with scallion sections and simmer, covered, about 10 to 15 minutes. Meanwhile, in a cup, blend cornstarch, sugar, soy sauce, sherry, pepper and remaining water to a paste. 7. Transfer fish and bean curd to a warm serving platter, leaving liquids in pan. Stir in cornstarch paste, to thicken. Pour sauce over fish and serve. The Thousand Recipe Chinese Cookbook. ©1994 by Gloria Bley Miller.