Red-braised ribbonfish with ginger and spring onion on rice
Ribbonfish pan-fried until golden, then red-braised with ginger, spring onion, Shaoxing wine and soy until glossy — sweet, savoury and warming, and wonderful with rice.
- 30 min
- Serves 2
- Red-braise
- Medium
Why it suits you: Yang-deficient people feel the cold, with chilly hands and feet and poor appetites, and although Chushu's days are still hot, long hours in air conditioning easily drain yang. Ribbonfish is warming and replenishes the stomach; ginger, spring onion and Shaoxing wine dispel cold, the rich sauce whets the appetite, and choi sum keeps it from becoming too heating.
Method
Prep 15 min · Cook 15 min- 1Rinse the ribbonfish, snip off the fins, cut into pieces, pat dry and dust lightly with cornflour. Cut the spring onions into lengths and wash the choi sum.
- 2Heat the oil and fry the fish over a medium heat until golden on both sides. Push it to one side and fry the ginger and spring onion whites until fragrant.
- 3Splash the Shaoxing wine around the edge of the pan, add both soy sauces, the sugar and water, cover and simmer for 8 minutes, spooning the sauce over the fish.
- 4Add the spring onion greens and boil hard to reduce the sauce. Blanch the choi sum separately and serve both over hot rice.
Cautions
- Ribbonfish has fine bones, so eat carefully and debone it for children and older people; skip it if you're sensitive to fish or during an eczema flare-up.
Chef's tips
- A light dusting of cornflour stops the skin sticking and the fish breaking up; don't keep turning it while braising — just spoon the sauce over the top.
The TCM view
Ribbonfish is sweet and warm, entering the liver and spleen, warming the stomach, replenishing deficiency and nourishing blood and skin. Ginger is pungent and warm, warming the middle and dispelling cold; spring onion white frees the yang; Shaoxing wine is pungent, sweet and warm and opens the vessels; choi sum is sweet and cool, balancing the warmth. Together they warm the middle and support yang.
