Stir Fried Belt Fish With Spicy Sauce | Chef John’s Cooking Class

In a deep cooking pan over high heat, add oil and bring to 300°F/150°C, deep fry garlic cloves for 30 seconds using a fine-mesh sieve strainer to hold the garlic. In this way, it's easier to control the timing and the garlic cloves would not scorch.

Deep fry the fish pieces for 3-5 minutes until golden on both sides. Remove from oil and pat with a paper towel to remove excess oil. (Note: Don't flip the fish pieces while deep frying, otherwise the fish will fall apart easily. Fry the fish until golden on both sides, otherwise, it will fall apart during cooking. )

In a large pan over high heat, add oil, garlic cloves, cold water, Shaoxing wine, sugar, sweet black rice vinegar (to enrich aroma), fermented soybean paste, Gochujang; then turn down the heat to medium-low, gently stir to mix well. Continue to add in fermented sweet rice and fish pieces, simmer for 3-5 minutes. Turn up the heat to high, cook until the sauce is thickened. Turn off the heat, add Chef-made peppercorn oil and Chef-made chili oil to enrich the flavor, turn off the heat, sprinkle with minced green onion and ground white pepper. (Thicken the sauce naturally, don't use slurry for thickening)

Enjoy!