Essential Techniques for the Welfare of the People, Volume 9

Take high-quality white fish, clean it, remove the bones, and mince the meat until you have three sheng A sheng is a traditional volume measure, approximately 1 liter.. Take one sheng of cooked fatty pork and mince it finely. Combine this with five he A he is one-tenth of a sheng, roughly 100 milliliters. of zha Zha refers to a preparation of salted and fermented meat or fish, often used here as a savory seasoning base., two he each of scallions and pickled melon, and half a he each of ginger and orange peel. Add three he of fish sauce. Taste to check the saltiness and add salt until it suits your palate. Form the mixture into cakes the size of a small bowl, about five fen A fen is approximately 3 millimeters; five fen is about 1.5 centimeters or half an inch. thick. Fry them in hot oil over a gentle fire. When they turn a deep red, they are cooked and ready to eat. One version says to use ten Sichuan peppercorns, ground into a powder and mixed in.

Method for Stuffed Roasted White Fish

Take a white fish two feet long. Clean it thoroughly but do not cut open the belly. After washing, split it open from the back and season it with salt. Take one fat young duck, clean it, remove the bones, and mince the meat finely. Combine this to make one sheng of zha, five he of pickled melon, three he of fish sauce, one he each of ginger and orange peel, two he of scallions, and one he of fermented black bean juice Original: chizhi. This is the liquid extracted from fermented soybeans, providing a rich, savory "umami" flavor.. Mix these ingredients together and roast the fish until it is cooked through...