三椒鱼 (SanJiaoYu) - Three Pepper Fish, China
This is a recipe I created inspired by my love for Chinese cuisine. It is bold and flavorful and full of nutrients while being quick and easy to prepare with inexpensive ingredients, making it a great weeknight staple.
Ingredients
- 4 Tilapia fillets Thaw in fridge or in cold water if using frozen fillets.
- 5 stalks scallions
- 2-3 inch long knob of ginger
- baby bok choy or other vegetable Should be about 3-4 cups when chopped.
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce I like to use low sodium soy sauce.
- 2 tablespoons black/zhenjiang vinegar
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 3 tablespoons cooking oil
- ½ teaspoon white pepper powder
- ½ teaspoon black pepper powder
- 1 teaspoon Sichuan pepper powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup all purpose flour
Instructions
- Peel, rinse, and chop the ginger into thin matchsticks.
- Wash and chop the white and light green parts of the scallions into 2-3 inch long matchsticks and place alongside the ginger.
- Chop the dark green part of the scallions into small pieces and set aside for garnishing.
- Wash and chop the baby bok choy into pieces about 1 1/2 inch square.
- Slice the fish fillets into similarly sized pieces and pat dry with a paper towel.
- In a shallow bowl, mix together the three pepper powders (black pepper, white pepper, and sichuan pepper) with the flour and salt.
- Dip the pieces of fish in this flour mixture to coat.
- Stir fry the bok choy in a hot wok or large saucepan with 1 TBS cooking oil for 3-5 mins over medium heat until bright green and just slightly tender. Set aside.
- Add 1 TBS cooking oil and 1 TBS sesame oil to the wok on medium heat and add the ginger and scallion matchsticks.
- Stir fry for 2-3 mins until aromatic.
- Add in the fish pieces and a little more oil if needed and fry until the fish is golden and cooked through.
- Add the bok choy back into the wok with the fish and add the black vinegar and soy sauce and gently combine.
- Cook for 2-3 mins together then serve immediately over rice topped with the green scallions reserved from earlier.
Notes
All measurements are estimates, feel free to adjust to taste!