Grouper in Black Beans

Ingredients:

1 lb grouper fillets or any other firm flesh white fish
1 egg white beaten
1 tsp cornstarch dash of ground white pepper
1/2 tsp sesame oil oil for deep frying

Sauce:

1 tbsp Fermented black beans
4 cloves garlic
1 tsp Fresh ginger, minced fine
1 tsp sugar
use mortar and pestle to pound the black bean with the garlic, add sugar and mix well
2 tbsp oil
2 tbsp dry sherry or rice wine
2 scallions, chopped

Preparation:

1. Add the beaten egg white, cornstarch, pepper and sesame oil to the grouper mix well and set aside.
2. *Pre-cooking the fish*
   In a hot mild steel wok, heat oil for deep frying quickly deep fry the fish in very hot oil, remove the fish with skimmer just when it begins to firm up and change color drain excess oil
3. Leave two tablespoons of oil in the wok , have the empty serving plate ready nearby
4. Add the black bean paste
5. Fry for a few seconds in low heat to release the aroma, take care not to burn the paste turn up the heat and add the pre-cooked fish
6. Toss very briskly with the spatula, or if you are a pro, toss the wok instead, being careful not to break the fish sizzle the ingredients with the wine toss again very quickly
7. Fish is done when it begins to flake you must not leave the fish to cook for any longer than required you may ladle in half a tablespoon of hot oil to give it a sheen and to keep the dish hot empty the contents onto the serving plate decoarate with the chopped scallion
8. Serve immediately

*Pre - cooking

this is a very chinese way of pre-cooking and should be done very quickly, less than a minute for fish in very hight heat and a couple of minutes for meat in high heat all the fish has to be removed in one swoop with a a large skimmer (a very large 6 - 8 inch diam "slotted spoon"), if you pick them up a piece at a time, some will be overcooked. Overcooked fish flakes easily and the whole dish will be a flop. Remember you are only pre cooking. For meat, the oil temperature can be medium hot and can be pre-cooked for a bit longer. You are dealing with very hot oil, so be extremely careful. In real chinese cooking there is an oil basin, the strainer or skimmer rests on the oil basin. The entire contents in the pre-fry are emptied into the oil basin with the ingredients strande on the stainer

from galaxylink