Braised Silvery Pomfret

1) Trim, draw and wash pomfret. Slash the sides. Steep with salt (1/4 teaspoon) and cooking wine (1 teaspoon).

Break eggs in a bowl and mix with the cornflour solution into an egg-batter.

Mince scallion, ginger and garlic.

2) Heat skillet over fire. Pour in peanut oil. Rub egg-batter evenly all over fish and fry till both sides are browned. Remove fish and empty oil.

Re-place skillet over fire and heat 1-2 tablespoons of oil. Stir-fry minced scallion, ginger and garlic till it smells good. Add salt (3/4 teaspoon) and cooking wine (3 teaspoons), soya sauce, vinegar, sugar, gourmet powder and 1.1/2 cups of boiling water. Bring to a boil on high flame, change over to low fire to keep it simmering for about 20 minutes. It may be transferred to serving plate when sauce is nearly all reduced.

Notes:

(1) The skillet must be well heated before cold oil is poured in. Spread oil well over the bottom and when it is warm, sauté the coated pomfret. Don't be in a hurry to move the fish before the coating is set in form. Only then move it slightly with a slice or tip the skillet so that fish is evenly heated and colored. Turn fish around only when one side is well fried.

(2) As the fish is coated with batter, it is liable to get stuck to the skillet during simmering. So attention must be paid to the strength of the fire and the amount of the sauce. Besides, the skillet should be moved around from time to time for even cooking.