Red-Braised Fish

Red-Braised Fish

By Chef Cannon

Cuisine: Chinese

Red-Braised Fish (Hong Shao Yu) are soy-braised fish steaks: sear firm fish, then simmer in a glossy soy–rock-sugar sauce with ginger, scallion, and Shaoxing wine. Brown both sides first, keep the braise shallow, and reduce until the sauce coats the fish.

At a glance

Time: about 35 min · 2–3 servings · Difficulty: medium · ≈ 320 kcal per serving

Red-Braised Fish (Hong Shao Yu) are soy-braised fish steaks: sear firm fish, then simmer in a glossy soy–rock-sugar sauce with ginger, scallion, and Shaoxing wine. Brown both sides first, keep the braise shallow, and reduce until the sauce coats the fish.

Difficulty

4 / 5

★★★★☆

Advanced
Estimated Calories

570 kcal

Ingredients

  • Ginger, garlic cloves, dried chilies
  • Oil, salt, cooking wine, vinegar, soy sauce, white sugar
  • Fish

Optional extra ingredients

  • Note: these amounts come from experience; apart from cilantro, more is not better
  • Oyster sauce
  • Scallions
  • Cilantro
  • Bird's eye chilies
  • MSG (chicken bouillon powder)

Steps

Preparing the ingredients

  1. Prepare the ginger and garlic and chop them
  2. Chop the dried chilies and keep them with the ginger and garlic

Final steps

  1. Add 30-50 ml of oil and wait for the pan to heat up...
  2. Add the fish, patted dry (unless you want to be spattered with hot oil), then shake the pan so the hot oil fries the fish; keep the heat low throughout
  3. Flip the fish and repeat the frying on the other side
  4. Add the ginger, garlic and chilies and stir-fry until fragrant
  5. Pour in the cooking wine, a little generously; be careful, as this produces a lot of smoke
  6. Pour in the vinegar (add a bit more if you like vinegar)
  7. Then add the white sugar and soy sauce (dark soy sauce)
  8. Add cold water just to cover the fish, turn to medium heat and cover; after about 1 minute flip the fish and cover again
  9. After 3-4 minutes, add salt, bird's eye chilies and oyster sauce (MSG, chicken bouillon, etc.), cover again and keep flipping the fish from time to time
  10. When the sauce has reduced to just below the dorsal fin along the fish's back (or when not much liquid is left), turn to low heat, add cilantro and chopped scallions, cover for 20 seconds and turn off the heat
  11. Serve

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Notes

Red-braised fish is a classic home-style dish with rich flavor: savory, fresh and slightly sweet, with tender fish that soaks up the sauce, a much-loved Chinese braise. Fish is rich in quality protein and unsaturated fatty acids, and its nutrients are easily absorbed. You need to handle raw fish and pan-fry it, and there are quite a few steps, so it is a bit of a challenge for beginners, but following the recipe you can succeed. From prep to serving it takes about 40 minutes.

Estimated difficulty: ★★★★
Estimated calories: 570 kcal

Calculation:

  • Fish: beginners are advised to start with a medium-sized crucian carp; score it in advance so it cooks through (otherwise the back tends to stay underdone)
  • Ginger: cut 2-3 slices from a normal piece of mature ginger, then julienne
  • Garlic cloves 3-4, crushed, chopped or sliced
  • Dried chilies (to taste) 2-3, chopped
  • Cilantro to taste
  • Salt 10g; use a bit more if the chilies are very hot
  • Vinegar 5ml
  • Soy sauce 5ml
  • White sugar 10g
  • Scallions 1-2, just sprinkle chopped scallions as usual
  • Bird's eye chilies 1-2, optional; from experience, add at most 2, or it will be painfully hot.
  • MSG to taste, don't add too much, 5g is enough.
  • Oyster sauce, 5g is enough, same logic as MSG

Time and temperature

Sear 2–3 min/side · braise 8–12 min over medium-low · reduce sauce

Nutrition

320 kcal · Protein 28 g · Fat 14 g · Carbs 12 g

1 steak (estimate)

Substitutes

  • Rock sugar → white sugar
  • Shaoxing wine → dry sherry
  • Firm white fish → carp, bass, or salmon steaks
  • Dark soy → light soy + pinch sugar

Storage

Refrigerate leftovers up to 2 days; reheat gently with a spoon of water. Freezing softens the texture.

FAQ

How do I keep the fish from sticking?
Pat dry, heat the pan well, and wait for a crust before flipping Red-Braised Fish (Hong Shao Yu).
Sauce too salty?
Add a splash of water and a little sugar, then reduce again until glossy.
Can I use fillets?
Yes, but shorten the braise so thin fillets do not fall apart.