Recipes for popular carp dishes in China

Grilled carp with bean curd [Photo provided to China Daily]

Try making these dishes at home, including a recipe from Nathan Brown, executive chef of The Ritz-Carlton Beijing Financial Street, for one of the most popular carp-based Chinese dishes - Sweet and Sour Carp Fish from his Chinese Qi restaurant:

Sweet and Sour Carp

Ingredients:

Carp 750g, sugar 200g, soy sauce 10g, cooking wine 10g, light soup 300g, peanut oil 1500g, (for deep-frying), shallot 2g, ginger 2g, vinegar 120g, garlic 3g, salt 3g, potato starch 100g.

Cooking instructions:

1. Clean the carp, remove the scales, insides and cheeks. Cut the fish and lift the tail, which opens up the belly section, and then marinade the meat in cooking wine. Add salt.

2. Combine light soup, soy sauce, cooking wine, vinegar, sugar, salt, potato starch together into mixed sauce for use later.

3. Dust the fish with potato starch to coat the areas that have been cut. Put the fish in a pre-heated deep-fry oil (70 percent) until crisp and move it around so it doesn't stick to the bottom of the wok. Fry for three minutes. Then stir-fry until the color becomes golden brown.

4. To make the sauce, put green onions, ginger and garlic in the pan. Saut, and when you can smell the aroma of those ingredients, add the mixed sauce. Wait a few seconds and then add some of the hot oil. Fry the sauce until it's ready to use. Evenly coat the whole fish in the sauce.

Fish Head with Tofu Soup

Ingredients:

Carp, tofu, peanut oil, ginger, garlic, water, stock, baby bok choy, straw mushrooms, salt, ground white pepper

Cooking instructions:

1. Clean the head of the bighead fish (about 500g), and make some cuts on the lower jaw to make it into two connected halves. Rinse and drain.

2. Soak two pieces of cloth-wrapped tofu in water with salt for about 15 minutes; then cut the tofu into tubes.

3. Heat peanut oil in a wok. Then put the fish head in the wok, and fry until it becomes golden yellow, thoroughly cooked. Remove the fish head and drain the oil. Put it into a clean plate for later use.

4. Heat a clean wok with oil over high heat. Add ginger and garlic, and stir until the aroma of these comes out. Add three cups of water, and two cups of stock. Add the fried fish head, tofu, baby bok choy and straw mushrooms. Add seasonings, salt and some ground white pepper. Bring it to a boil with high heat. Cover the wok and let it simmer for another 20 minutes.

Steamed Carp

Ingredients:

Carp, rice wine, salt, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, diced pork, ham, spring onions, vegetable oil

Cooking instructions:

1. Clean the carp and make two or three X-shaped cuts on each side. Rub with the rice wine and let it marinate.

2. Place the fish on a heatproof dish and sprinkle salt, mushrooms, bamboo shoots and diced pork over the meat. Place ham, spring onions and ginger on top. Drizzle it with vegetable oil.

3. Place the dish in a steamer and steam until the fish is cooked (10-15 minutes). Discard the spring onions and ginger, and serve.