Suan Cai Yu

Name: Suan Cai Yu
Yield: 2 servings
Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients: 800g white fish fillet (such as grass carp or basa), thinly sliced; 250g pickled mustard greens (suan cai), sliced; 1 egg white and 1 tbsp cornflour; Pickled chillies and dried chillies; 1 tsp Sichuan peppercorns; Garlic and ginger, sliced; 1 litre fish or chicken stock

酸菜鱼/swan tsai YOO/

Also known as: Suancai Yu, Fish with Pickled Mustard Greens, Sichuan Sour Fish Soup, Chinese Pickled Cabbage Fish

About this dish

Tender slices of white fish poached in a sour, gently spicy broth of pickled mustard greens, chillies and Sichuan pepper.

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Ingredients

🐟800g white fish fillet (such as grass carp or basa), thinly sliced

🥬250g pickled mustard greens (suan cai), sliced

🥚1 egg white and 1 tbsp cornflour

🌶️Pickled chillies and dried chillies

🌶️1 tsp Sichuan peppercorns

🧄Garlic and ginger, sliced

🍲1 litre fish or chicken stock

Method

Serves 2

Coat the fish slices in egg white, cornflour and a little salt.

Fry the pickled greens, garlic, ginger and pickled chillies in oil.

Add the stock and simmer for 10 minutes.

Add the fish slices one by one and poach until just white.

Pour into a bowl, top with dried chillies and Sichuan pepper, and pour over smoking-hot oil.

✓ What Makes it Authentic

Suan cai yu comes from Chongqing and became a nationwide favourite in the 1990s; it is now one of China's most popular restaurant dishes.

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