Dipping Sauce Tilapia (蘸水罗非鱼)

[00:00] So, this here is a map of the Southeast Asian receipt, the highlands that spread from Sichuan down to Vietnam and area referred to by some scholars as Xamian. But to me, more than anything, this here it's a transnational land of dipping sauces.

[00:18] Whether it's the Dai people Sa Piaz, the Han-i people's Jiang Shui-ji, Central Yunnan's Jiang Shui-ji, West Hunan's Lila Jiao, West Guangxi's Duck Handles, Gui-Jiu Su-Ga-do, various kinds of Laoxian Jiao's Northern Thailand's Namprix, and if we expand our map a little bit,

[00:36] Central Thailand's Namprix, and of course Sichuan's famed tofu rice meals. This here, it's just a genius category of food. And that's because what you'll do is you'll just kind of make one central flavorful dip,

[00:52] really kind of focus your energy on that, and then the main ingredients that can really be cooked pretty simply, pretty plainly, which really takes a lot of pressure off of the cook without sacrificing any flavor in the least.

[01:05] So this Yunnan dish, dipping sauce tolapia, you could kind of think of it as part of that larger category. It's a specialty of the town of Xingping up in the Islao Mountains, a couple hours drive from the province capital Kunming.

[01:18] What it is is hunks of meaty fish in a simple tasty soup that served, of course, alongside of an awesome chili-based dip. But again, more than anything, for a home cook, I just think it's a really easy, practical

[01:32] way to cook. Like ever since we came back from traveling around Xingping, we've found ourselves kind of mindlessly making this dish a couple times. I mean, it's healthy, tasty, it's a good way to round out a meal when we're otherwise

[01:47] testing buffalo wings. And so we figured that we had to share it with you. Now unfortunately, though, I do know that finding a whole fresh fish can sometimes be a little bit of a difficult ask in the West.

[02:01] And also unfortunately, those bones, they do really bring a lot to what isn't otherwise pretty simple soup. So we decided to try two mixes for you today. So we will be covering the proper Xingping style.

[02:13] It is the easiest if you can do it. But if your supermarket only has fillets that's also completely fine, we also decided to try a Western supermarket mix that used a little bit of pork ribs as well to kind of add back

[02:29] in that missing flavor. So right, mix number one then. One fish, or 750 grams of tilapia, chopped into about 1.5 inch sections. Easy enough.

[02:41] So then, mix number two, though Western supermarket one, we've got 200 grams of ribs chopped into about 1 inch sized pieces. And of course, our fillet, 350 grams worth sliced at an angle into about 3mm wide sheets,

[02:55] or something like this is about perfect. So then set that aside, and then for both, we'll be tossing in an optional but recommended additional bit of vegetable. Six pieces remain lettuce, and 40 grams of carrot thinly sliced together with a bit of a

[03:11] spice mix too. So this was just an inch and a half of ginger smashed. One sauerkraut, Chinese black cardamom, sliced in half and peeled, keeping just the peel,

[03:23] and one teaspoon of citron peppercorn. And again, if those latter two things are kind of hard for you to source, that's no problem. You could definitely just try swapping them for one of these mixes up on the screen instead.

[03:38] So then, to cook the fish to a pot or wok, first go in with about a tablespoon half of oil, large, really preferable for this one, and over a medium low flame, toss in those

[03:50] ginger and spices. Fry those until they're fragrant, or about one minute, then go in with one liter of cool water. Bring it up to a boil, toss in the carrot, and if you're going whole fish in the Yunnan

[04:04] style, just toss those in now, and if you're going filets, toss in the pork ribs instead. For the Yunnan one, we'll come back in two minutes, and for the western one, 15. And then, so after that time, just season that all with a quarter teaspoon salt and MSG,

[04:21] and eighth teaspoon chicken bouillon powder and a half teaspoon of white pepper. Let those dissolve into the soup, then toss in the lettuce. Let that just barely wilt, then transfer those all to a bowl.

[04:34] But with the western one, we are going to be leaving the soup inside the pot, and then quickly marinate our fish slices with an eighth teaspoon salt, coat it with a teaspoon of peanut oil, and then mix that well.

[04:47] Then with the soup, back at a heavy simmer, gently go in with the fish. Quick jiggle, but do know that these are going to cook in just a flash. So once they've changed color, about 30 seconds or so, take the mountain, then gently lay them

[05:03] onto the ribs. So then, mix number one, mix number two, which brings us to our eponymous dipping sauce, which also two options for you today, because a sheamping, it's actually kind of an interesting place.

[05:18] You see, the city itself, it's up there in the mountains, it's the kind of place that's kind of famous for its pickles, and having this dish up there, it seems to usually be served with a sizzling chili oil-based dip, which is probably what I ended up showing you in

[05:32] the thumbnail. But in what is technically still sheamping? If you drive down the mountains, not even an hour, you'll arrive at the town of Gaza, which is a completely different micro-climate, it's the kind of place that's famous for

[05:47] its sugar, it's a basically tropical valley that runs straight along the red river with a ton of die people influence. And when we had this dish there, they served it up with a nutty, herbaceous dip, which

[06:00] was kind of our personal favorite variant. But if you do want the chili oil-based sort, which is admittedly kind of sexy, what you'll do is, to a bowl, first toss in six grams each chopped mint, chopped cilantro, and chopped

[06:14] coolantro, and just swap that for more cilantro, if you can't find coolantro, together with two minced, spicy, fresh chilies. One large clove garlic, a half tablespoon soy sauce, a quarter teaspoon MSG, and an

[06:27] eighth teaspoon each salt and chicken bouillon. Then heat up two tablespoons of oil until it's smoking, or about, 220 C, and once it's cooled down to about 180, just toss in a half tablespoon each chili flake, preferably toasted or smoked,

[06:43] together with a red, fragrant chili powder like Kashmirier gochugaru. And just pour that sizzling oil into the bowl with everything else, and add in a quarter cup of your fish soup. Mix that well again, and then there you have a sizzling chili oil dip.

[07:00] Then for the herbaceous dip, just mix in a quarter teaspoon salt, quarter teaspoon MSG, quarter teaspoon Sichuan pepper powder, one tablespoon of soy sauce, 15 grams chopped scallion, 20 grams minced cilantro, 20 grams minced coolantro, and just swap that for cilantro

[07:17] if you can't find it. Three minced, spicy, fresh chilies, two cloves of minced garlic, two teaspoons of chili flake, preferably a toasted or smoked one, and a half tablespoon of toasted sesame seeds.

[07:30] Then just add in a few ladles of your soup, mix that well, then dip in your fish, and devour. So the pink sauce fresh sure any kinds of the pink sauce meals, it's actually a very convenient

[07:43] and easy and delicious way to eat, because you can just boil things in water, and then you have some very nice soup to drink and start a meal with.

[07:55] This bowl here can feed at least two to three people, and it takes like no time to cook. And plus with the pink sauce, you know, you can eat it with the pink sauce or not, with different

[08:08] flavor interchangeably in between your bites. And together with some rice, this is a very comforting and quick, delicious meal that just takes no time to make.

[08:20] Alright, recipes in the description box, a big thank you for everyone that's supporting us on Patreon, and of course, subscribe for more Chinese cooking videos.