Braised Fish Tail（红烧划水）

Have you heard of the dish "Braised Fish Tail"? This is a traditional Chinese dish with a very distinctive taste. It is salty and sweet, and the meat is delicious and fatty. Today, I will share the tutorial of this dish with everyone.

What is Braised Fish Tail?

Braised Fish Tail is a traditional famous Chinese dish belonging to Huizhou cuisine. Braised Fish Tail can be summarized in ten words: "Sweet at the beginning, salty at the end, thick oil and dark sauce". It is one of the representative dishes with traditional flavor characteristics developed from folk in the south of the Yangtze River.

The traditional Braised Fish Tail is made with fish tail as the main ingredient and combined with ingredients such as green onions and ginger. The taste is very tender and springy, and many people like to eat it.

What kind of fish is used for Braised Fish Tail?

The traditional Braised Fish Tail is made with black carp.

The tail of black carp has thick meat and relatively high fat content, so that black carp has an exceptionally tender and rich taste after being braised. At the same time, the skin of black carp is very tough and can well absorb the rich taste of braised sauce. The strong umami taste of black carp itself makes the braised fish tail extremely delicious.

If there is no black carp, the tail of grass carp is also a good choice. The meat of the tail of grass carp is relatively firm and can maintain its shape during braising and will not easily fall apart.

At the same time, the price of grass carp is relatively more affordable. If you make it at home, using the tail of grass carp is quite cost-effective. And the Braised Fish Tail made from the tail of grass carp has a purer taste than other fish.

Ingredients Needed and Substitutions

Main ingredients

Fish tail: It is the main ingredient, providing a fresh, fragrant, tender and smooth taste. Use the tail of black carp.

Additional ingredients

scallions, ginger: Both have a special fragrance. Ginger is used to remove fishy smell, and scallions are used to enhance fragrance. Both can help increase the color of the dish and make it more attractive.

Seasonings

Cooking oil: Used for stir-frying ingredients and increasing the taste of the dish.

Dark soy sauce: Mainly used for coloring to make the dish present a bright red color and provide saltiness at the same time.

Cooking wine: Used to remove fishy smell from fish tail and increase the fragrance of the dish at the same time.

Salt: Basic seasoning to increase the saltiness of the dish.

Sugar: Used for stir-frying sugar color to make the dish present a bright red color and balance the taste of the dish at the same time.

Water starch: Used for thickening to make the juice of the dish more thick.

Substitutions:

Fish tail: Can be replaced by the tail of grass carp.

scallions: Can be replaced by garlic or onions.

Ginger: Can be replaced by peppers.

Dark soy sauce: Can be replaced by light soy sauce.

Cooking wine: Can be replaced by yellow rice wine or white liquor.

Salt: Can be replaced by soy sauce or monosodium glutamate.

Sugar: Can be replaced by rock sugar or brown sugar.

Water starch: Can be replaced by corn starch or potato starch.

Which is more delicious for Braised Fish Tail, grass carp or black carp?

I prefer black carp.

First of all, black carp is the first choice for making traditional Braised Fish Tail. Its meat is tender and rich in taste, more suitable for making Braised Fish Tail. At the same time, the feeling of melting in the mouth of Braised Fish Tail made from black carp is more obvious. The rich fish oil fragrance and braised sauce blend together. Every bite is like playing a delicious symphony in the mouth. The tender taste will leave a deep memory on the tip of the tongue.

While grass carp is the first choice to replace black carp for making Braised Fish Tail. Its taste is also very good. But compared with black carp, the meat of grass carp is more firm. The Braised Fish Tail made from it is more chewy. At the same time, it can well hold the thick sauce and let every strand of fish meat be soaked in the salty and sweet taste. If you like a firm texture, you can choose to use grass carp.

Tips for Success

Fish tail processing skills

The fish tail is the main ingredient for making Braised Fish Tail, so the processing is very important. First of all, the fish tail should be cut into a fan shape. This can not only make the fish tail more flavorful but also be more beautiful when placed on a plate after being cooked.

When cutting the fish tail, pay attention to cutting along the fish bone to both sides, but do not cut through the fish skin. This requires certain knife skills and patience. If your knife skills are not good, you can ask the master to help cut it when purchasing.

Heat control

The heat is very important when frying the fish tail. This is very crucial. Fry slowly over medium-low heat to let the fish tail heat up slowly until both sides are golden brown. This can not only lock the freshness of the fish meat but also increase the aroma of Braised Fish Tail.

Seasoning combination skills

The taste of Braised Fish Tail is greatly affected by seasonings. Therefore, seasonings should be well combined. Dark soy sauce is mainly used to increase the color. Cooking wine is used to remove fishy smell and enhance fragrance. The ratio of salt and sugar should also be moderate to make the braised Braised Fish Tail taste mellow, delicious and tasty.

Setting the simmering time

The simmering time is an important factor for the taste of Braised Fish Tail. Under normal circumstances, cover the pot and simmer for about 10 minutes to make the fish meat more tender and flavorful.

But the specific time should also be adjusted according to the size of the fish tail and the heat.

Starch thickening skills

When Braised Fish Tail is almost done, add water starch for thickening. Thickening can make the soup more thick and adhere to the fish meat to increase the taste. But when thickening, pay attention to adding water starch slowly while stirring to avoid adding too much at once and making the soup too thick.