Holiday Feast – A Showstopping Dish for Chinese New Year’s Eve
Squirrel-Shaped Mandarin Fish
Even people who don’t usually like fish can’t help but keep eating this Squirrel-Shaped Mandarin Fish, which is considered by many to be a dish you can only find in restaurants. With its crispy exterior and tender interior, free of fish bones, and its sweet and sour sauce that stimulates the appetite, it’s a dish loved by both young and old.
The preparation is a bit complex, but the recipe has been recorded in great detail. Scroll down to see if you can follow along clearly. 
Ingredients:
- Mandarin fish
- Ginger
- Cooking wine
- Salt
- Cornstarch
- Ketchup
- White vinegar
- Soft white sugar
- Green peas
- Diced carrots
- Pine nuts
Preparation:
Fish Head Preparation: Cut off the head of the Mandarin fish, remove the fins and excess bones from the head, allowing the head to stand upright in the dish.
Fish Body Preparation: With the knife along the spine, slice horizontally from head to tail, but do not cut through at the tail end! Then spread the cut side down (skin side up). You will see two connected pieces of fish, one with bones and one without.
Further Preparation: Along the side with bones, thinly slice the fish meat attached to the bones, again, do not cut through at the tail end! Flip the sliced fish meat to one side. Now, you have one side with fish bones and the other with two overlapping pieces of fish meat.
Bone Removal: Cut off the bone section, leaving a small space so as not to damage the fish meat on the other side.
Fish Meat Preparation: With the cut side up (skin side down on the cutting board), insert the knife at a 45-degree angle along the fish’s belly to remove the belly bones.
Scoring the Fish: Score the fish meat with a crisscross pattern, ensuring not to cut through the skin at any point! First, make diagonal cuts at a 45-degree angle, about 0.5 cm apart; then make straight cuts at a 90-degree angle, also about 0.5 cm apart, creating a diamond pattern. Remember, do not cut through the skin!
Marinating: Place the fish meat and head in a large bowl, add 6 slices of ginger, 30g of cooking wine, and 1 spoon of salt, and marinate for 15 minutes.
Coating with Cornstarch: In a clean, dry, and oil-free dish, spread 200g of cornstarch. Coat the fish meat and head evenly with cornstarch, shaking off excess before frying.
Frying: Heat a pot of oil until small bubbles form around chopsticks dipped into it. Place the fish meat on a slotted spoon, tail up, meat side out, shape it, then lower into the oil. Fry over medium heat until it sets, then remove and set aside (you’ll fry it again later; don’t discard the oil). Fry the head as well.
Sauce Preparation: In another pot, heat a little oil, add 150g of ketchup, then half a bowl of water, bring to a boil. Add 15g of white vinegar, 35g of soft white sugar, and 2 spoons of salt, boil until the sugar dissolves, then add a large spoon of hot oil and mix well.
Add Vegetables and Pine Nuts: Add 25g of green peas, 25g of diced carrots, and 15g of pine nuts, then thicken with half a bowl of cornstarch water. Boil the sauce and set aside.
Re-Frying: Heat the oil to 200 degrees, then reduce to medium heat. Re-fry the fish meat and head for 1 minute until crispy on the surface. Plate the fish, pour the hot sauce over, and serve immediately.
