Milkfish Tenders in Fermented Black Bean Sauce 豆鼓醬燒虱目魚柳

Milkfish is one of the most versatile fish options you can find in Taiwan. On top of that, it's cheap too. Even with the fancier better-tasting farmed version, milkfish is still considered on the quite affordable side comparing to other common varieties such as salmon and bass.

So once a while I do buy a pack of milkfish "tenders" and cook in heavier Chinese seasonings. The so-called tender part is actually the two strips of meat on each side of the lower spine. When processed right, it's like 99.99% boneless, making it one of the ideal fish options to feed the kids, and me. 

Milkfish tenders in fermented black bean sauce 豆鼓醬燒虱目魚柳 - 

Ingredients?

• 300 grams milkfish tenders
• 1 tablespoon dried fermented black beans (豆鼓)
• 2 1/2 tablespoons Chinese rice cooking wine
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 to 2 red chilies
• 1 stalk scallion
• 4 shiitake mushrooms
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon granulated sugar

How?

Use 1 tablespoon of Chinese rice cooking wine to soak the dried fermented black beans for about 10 to 15 minutes. Note that usually you'll find both the dried version and the oiled version fermented black beans at the market. If using the oily kind, skip the soaking step.

Slice the fish to big size pieces. Some of the milkfish tenders I got can be slightly longer than preferred, so I sliced that in half instead. Use 1 1/2 tablespoons of Chinese rice cooking wine plus 1 tablespoon of soy sauce to massage and marinate the fish for 10 to 15 minutes.

Peel and roughly chop the garlic cloves. Destem and slice diagonally for the red chilies. Destem then section the scallion. Destem then quarter the shiitake mushrooms. The shiitake mushrooms I've got come with decent size, so quarter them is just about right. If you can only get the smaller kind, buy a few more and maybe halve or use whole mushrooms instead.

Have a pan ready and drizzle 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Switch to medium heat and wait till the oil gets warm. Add in garlic, red chilies, scallion sections, fermented black beans along with the marinating rice wine. Give it a quick mix and sear till aromatic but not burn the garlic bits.

Add in the shiitake mushrooms and give it a quick stir-fry for about a minute. Push things to the side of the pan. Pour in the fish along with its marinade to the empty space in the center.

Sear and wait till the bottom of the fish has set a little then flip and sear the other side. Don't move around too much at first, wait till that side starts to set too. That way the fish can better keep its shape instead of breaking apart while you do the stir-frying motion too soon.

Season with 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce, and 1/4 teaspoon of granulated sugar. Mix gently and cook till the sauce seemed reduced a little. Plate and serve.

The sugar is essential to bring the entire dish to a more balanced taste. You see that most of the seasonings we have are on the salty side, especially the fermented black beans. So by adding a little sugar, it won't make the dish sweet but rather smooth out that saltiness. Yielding a more rounded result.

By the way, you don't have to use milkfish tenders. Any kind of hearty meaty white fish would do, but make sure to avoid the flaky kind. Perhaps tilapia if you're looking for a bargained substitute. Personally seaking I'm not a fan of tilapia, but I do think that the heavier seasonings used in this recipe will make such fish much more tasty.

Extended reading:

• Milkfish tenders with tomato sauce 茄汁虱目魚柳

Chinese Pickled Radish 中式醃蘿蔔

When talking about pickled radish, oftentimes the Japanese version will pop up in my head right away. Like the ones you get at a fine sushi place, the nearly pearl-colored lightly sourish taste radish. 

However, we are going to make the "Chinese" version this time. Still got that sourish element, but in a stronger and more dominant way. To counter that black vinegar aroma, soy sauce, chili, and Sichuan peppercorns were also used. So think of it as a more powerful kind of pickled radish.

Chinese pickled radish 中式醃蘿蔔 - 

Ingredients?

• 630 grams radish (I used two medium sized radish)
• 4 tablespoons granulated sugar
• Some salt
• 2 slices ginger (about 1mm thickness)
• 1 red chili
• 3 to 4 garlic cloves
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1 tablespoon Sichuan peppercorns
• 100ml soy sauce
• 60ml black vinegar

How?

Trim-off the very tips of radish, but no need to peel. Rub the radish with some salt, rinse-off and scrub till cleaned. Dry well, better further use a paper towel to wipe-off any water remained.

Cut the radish to about 1mm thickness slices, no more than 2mm. Add the radish slices to a big mixing container. Sprinkle in 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar, massage in the sugar and let it marinate for at least 15 minutes. I actually let it sit for about 25 minutes.

After that, really use your force to squeeze dry the radish slices then transfer to the container you'll be using for the final storing process. Make sure the container is safe for some heated oil. By the way, after marinating with sugar, the radish slices will turn a bit softer so it shouldn't get torn easily when squeezing. But still be careful not to break all the perfectly round pieces though.

Scrape then slice the ginger, we'll need two 1mm thickness slices here. Peel and slice the garlic cloves. Destem and slice the red chili to rings. Use not as spicy red chilies if you just want a kick instead of overly fiery note for the pickles.

Pour in 1/2 cup of olive to a medium pot. Switch to medium or medium low heat and wait till the oil gets warm, but not sizzling hot. Add in 1 tablespoon of Sichuan peppercorns. Swirl the pot a little, maybe lower the heat a bit too to prevent burning.

Add in 100ml soy sauce, 60ml black vinegar, and 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar. Swirl or mix till all the sugar has been melted.

Remove the pot from the heat and pour all over the radish slices. Scatter prepped ginger, garlic, and red chilies throughout. Give it a few mixes then cover with lid. Into the fridge and marinate for at least one hour.

The pictures I have here for the final pickled radish is the result of sitting in the fridge for one hour. Even with such short time, the flavors were mostly soaked in already, super delicious I would say. 

The pickled radish can sit in the fridge for like 10 days. It will further absorb the seasonings a little more, but surprisingly it won't turn overly salty for some reason. In fact, I especially like the ones with deeper soy sauce coloring. The Chinese version of pickled radish tastes so good, I can even munch on the pickles without any other dishes to eat along with.

Note that a layer of olive oil will gradually coagulate on top after storing in the fridge for some time, which is completely normal. Just remember to start eating the radish on the bottom, since they have already soaked up all the flavors.

You can also find a deeper container and store these pickled radish. That way when the oil thickens on top, it can actually act like a barrier, nicely keeping all the radish slices below fully soaked in the seasonings. 

Japanese version of pickled radish:

• Japanese pickled daikon 大根漬け