Diced Swai with Fermented Black Beans (豉汁魚球)

In the last year or two, I have cooked and eaten a lot of swai. Swai is a type of catfish, native to southeast Asia, with a slightly softer texture than American catfish. The best part (other than the name, of course), is that it typically sells for around $3.99 per pound. Generally, swai is found frozen in fillets. Swai is a versatile fish, and takes well to being cooked on its own as whole fillets, or as part of another dish. Given how often I eat it, it's about time it made it into the blog!

Today, I'm also featuring yet another Chinese fermented bean product. Adding to the fermented tofu, bean sauce, ground bean sauce, and hot bean paste already in the fridge are "fermented black beans." Also known as douchi (豆豉), these fermented soybeans are quite salty, and have a distinct and funky pungency that distinguishes them from the laundry list of fermented beans.

This dish is another find out of Pei Mei's Chinese Cook Book. The Chinese name translates to something like "fermented bean sauce fish balls." It's quick, easy, and pretty tasty. The only thing to watch out for here is the salt level. Because the fermented beans add a lot of salt on their own, I recommend leaving the salt out of the sauce and adjusting later. I suspect every brand of fermented beans has a different amount of salt, so this is up to you.

Ingredients

• 2 swai fillets (approx. 14 oz)
• 1 Tbs minced garlic
• 1 Tbs minced ginger
• 2-3 Tbs chopped green onions
• 1 1/2 Tbs fermented black beans
• 1 Tbs chopped red chili peppers (optional)

Marinade

• 1 Tbs Shaoxing wine or dry sherry
• 1/4 tsp white pepper
• 1/4 tsp salt

Sauce

• 3 Tbs chicken stock
• 1 tsp Shaoxing wine or dry sherry
• 1/2 tsp sesame oil
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp cornstarch
• 1/4 tsp salt (to taste, see instructions below)

Instructions

Lightly score the fish on one side with a sharp knife in a crosshatch pattern. This is easier to do on the softer side of the fish. Be careful not to cut too deep. (This is Pei Mei's first step. I believe this is to let the fish pick up more sauce later on.) Cut the fish into small pieces, about 1 square inch each. In a bowl, toss the fish pieces with the marinade ingredients, and set aside for 30 minutes. The marinade will be pretty minimal, really just enough to coat the fish.

While the fish is resting, prepare the garlic, green onion, ginger, and red pepper (if desired). Mix the sauce in a bowl, making sure to integrate the cornstarch. Be careful with the salt here. The ingredient list above has preserved the original recipe's recommendation, but I found the dish too salty. My recommendation is leaving it out at this stage, and tasting later on. The rest of the recipe will go very quickly, and you want to have everything ready to go.

On high heat, coat the wok with oil and quickly stir fry the fish, for about one minute. If you want, you can also deep fry the fish, as in the original recipe. I chose to avoid this hassle, but it's up to you. Set the fish aside when done.

Add more oil, then throw in the garlic, ginger, green onion, and pepper (if using). Toss for a few seconds, then add the fermented beans and prepared sauce. Add the fish, and stir together for about one minute, allowing the sauce to reduce and coat the fish.

I served the fish with rice and bok choy. While probably not traditional, I actually think this dish could benefit from a small splash of lemon juice to brighten it up.