This Sichuan chilli fish is one of my favourite spicy foods. I first discovered Sichuan food about 10 years ago and one of the distinguishing features of this cuisine is the Sichuan peppercorn. It leaves a bit of num feeling in your mouth, especially when you accidentally bite into a whole peppercorn. I thought I was having an allergic reaction the first time I ate these peppercorns and they are now my favourite part of this dish. My favourite Sichuan chilli fish has a well seasoned broth with large soy bean sprouts, not the small ones that are more commonly found in grocery stores.
My dear friends, if you happen to be pregnant, this might just to be one of the ways you can quicken the onset of labour. When I was pregnant with my daughter, I ate this regularly and on the day before my labour, I had eaten chilli fish for both lunch and dinner! Thank goodness because by the end of my pregnancy, I just couldn’t wait for this little human to get out of me.
I haven’t provided a calorie count because although there is a lot of oil and calories in the broth, it’s not generally drunk as a soup and therefore you don’t consume the majority of the calories.
Serves 2
Prep time 15 mins
Cook time 10 mins
Ingredients
3 tbsp neutral oil
4cm piece of ginger, sliced
2 cloves garlic, sliced
1 spring onion, sliced (2cm pieces)
6 dried chillies, sliced
2 tsp sichuan peppercorns
1 tsp ground sichuan pepper
1 tbsp chilli powder
4 tbsp chilli broad bean paste
800ml water
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp chicken bouillon powder
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
300g white fish fillet, sliced to 5cm pieces
200g bean sprouts (preferably soy bean)
Coriander, for garnish
Note: The insulated metal serving bowl I had the chilli fish in is from Thermomix but you can find a similar (and cheaper!) one here.
In a large pot, heat the oil and fry the ginger, garlic, spring onion, dried chillies and peppercorns until fragrant.
Then add in the ground sichuan pepper, chilli oil and chilli broad bean paste and sautee briefly until fragrant.
Add the water, chicken stock powder, dark soy sauce, sugar and salt and bring to a boil.
Add the fish fillets let it boil for a few more minutes until cooked through.. Take off the heat and stir in the bean sprouts. Garnish with coriander and serve with steamed rice.
Thermomix Adaptation
Ingredients
40g neutral oil
4cm piece of ginger, sliced
2 cloves garlic, sliced
1 spring onion, sliced (2cm pieces)
6 dried chillies, sliced
2 tsp sichuan peppercorns
1 tsp ground sichuan pepper
1 tbsp chilli powder
60g chilli broad bean paste
800g water
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp chicken bouillon powder
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
300g white fish fillet, sliced to 5cm pieces
200g bean sprouts (preferably soy bean)
Coriander, for garnish
Place oil, ginger, garlic, spring onion, dried chillies, peppercorns, ground pepper, chilli oil and bean paste into mixing bowl and cook 3 min/Varoma/speed 1.
Add water, soy sauce, chicken stock powder, sugar and salt, then cook 7 min/100°C/stirring speed.
Add fish fillets and bean sprouts then cook 3 min/100°C/reverse/stirring speed. Garnish with coriander just before serving.
More Fish Recipes
- Chinese Steamed Whole Snapper
- Burmese Fish Curry
- Pan Fried Fish Fillets with Ginger and Soy
- Thai Hor Mok Fish Custard
- Red Curry Fish Parcels
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