Dinner · 30 min · chinese

West Lake Vinegar Fish

Dinner decisions, handled: West Lake Vinegar Fish pairs whole grass carp with black vinegar for a 30-minute Chinese dinner. Each serving lands at 340 calories with 44g of protein, so it eats like a much heavier meal. Leftovers keep well, so it doubles as next-day lunch without any extra work.

Ingredients

• 2 lb Whole grass carp
• 0.33 cup Black vinegar
• 3 tbsp Sugar
• 2 tbsp Light soy sauce
• 3 tbsp Fresh ginger
• 1 cup Chicken stock
• 1 tbsp Cornstarch
• 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
• 2 Scallions

Steps

1. Score the fish on both sides and poach gently in barely simmering water with the wine 12 minutes. Keep the water calm — a rolling boil breaks the fish.
2. Lift the fish onto a platter and keep warm. Reserve 1 cup of the poaching liquid.
3. Simmer the poaching liquid with the stock, vinegar, sugar, soy, and julienned ginger 5 minutes. Thicken with the cornstarch slurry until it coats a spoon.
4. Pour the glossy sweet-sour sauce over the fish. It should be assertively vinegary — this is not a shy dish.
5. Garnish with scallions and serve with rice. A Hangzhou classic that tastes like the lake it is named for: clean, bright, and a little mysterious.

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