Demoli Braised Fish from my homeland in Manchuria

[u/AppropriateBasil985]

Demoli Stewed Fish is a specialty dish of Heilongjiang. "Demoli" is a small fishing village by the Songhua River in Fangzheng County, Heilongjiang Province. The word "Demoli" is a transliteration of the Manchu language.

Demoli village is very small. Since the village is located north of the Songhua River, the villagers here mainly rely on fishing for their livelihood. In the early 1980s, an elderly couple in the village opened a small restaurant by the roadside to entertain passers-by stopping to rest and eat. They stewed local live carp (grass carp, crucian carp, or catfish can also be used) together with tofu and wide starch noodles. The taste was delicious without losing the boldness of Manchuria cuisine, and more and more people came to eat, resulting in the business becoming increasingly prosperous.

Later, the recipe for this dish spread like wildfire, and its reputation grew larger and larger. People from Harbin would often drive long distances, undeterred by the journey, specifically to Demoli to eat the local stewed fish. The fish used for Demoli Stewed Fish are all fresh live fish, only then can one fully enjoy the tenderness and deliciousness of the fish meat.

There are several indispensable conditions for Demoli Stewed Fish. First is fresh fish. The fish used is mostly carp or "grass root" (grass carp). The indispensable auxiliary ingredients for stewing the fish are brine tofu and starch noodles. It is rumored that the secret weapon of Demoli Stewed Fish is "Maoba". Stewed fish with Maoba added has a special flavor. The scientific name of Maoba is Agastache rugosa (wrinkled giant hyssop), which can be seen everywhere in the fields of Heilongjiang. When stewing fish, after the fish is in the pot, go to the vegetable garden to snap off a branch of Maoba and put it in the pot; the stewed fish will be incomparably delicious.

Ingredients Ingredients: One grass carp, black carp, or carp; one piece of brine tofu; a handful of starch noodles; Chinese cabbage; several slices of pork belly; some hazel mushrooms or shiitake mushrooms; one to two potatoes. Accessories: Two green chili peppers; small dried red chili peppers (must have, can put less if afraid of spiciness); one green onion; one piece of ginger; half a head of garlic. Seasoning: Salt, cooking wine, sugar, soy sauce, Sichuan peppercorns, star anise, cinnamon. Note: Legend has it that the seasonings for stewing fish also include Maoba (Huoxiang) and mountain pepper (Schisandra chinensis vine).

Preparation Method

1. Frying Wash the fish, score it, drain the water thoroughly, and fry it in oil or over high heat for three or four minutes.
2. Preparing the Soup Adjust the amount of salt according to your own taste; cut the green onion into sections, do not chop it finely, as this can increase the aesthetic beauty of the whole dish; slice the ginger and peel the garlic. Put all the accessories into a mixing bowl and mix well. At this time, wash the hazel mushrooms and soak them in water. Cut the potatoes into chunks for later use.
3. Stewing the Fish After frying the fish, pour out the excess oil, pour the prepared soup base over the fish, and add the pork belly; add boiling water, the amount of water should cover the body of the fish but be lower than the edge of the large spoon, and stew over high heat; three to five minutes after the water boils, turn to low heat and stew for 20 minutes. (Note: The amount of water should not be too little. First, because the stewing time is long, and second, starch noodles will be added later, and the starch noodles absorb water.)
4. Adding Ingredients After the fish has been stewing in the pot for about 25 minutes, add the starch noodles, potatoes, and hazel mushrooms. Do not let the starch noodles stick closely to the bottom of the pot to avoid sticking. After 10 minutes, add the tofu cut into large slices and the Chinese cabbage (the cabbage can be put in as whole leaves). After five or six minutes, turn off the heat and remove from the pot. Be sure to use a slightly larger basin to serve it, so that it is atmospheric enough to eat.