70-Year-Old Grandma's Braised Carp: A Fragrant and Delicious Home-Style Dish

Grandma is 70 years old and has been living in the countryside. There's a big river near Grandma's home, and there are many kinds of fish in the river, such as grass carp, carp, and loach. However, in winter, the river freezes over, and the fish available for sale are reduced. A few days ago, neighbors nearby ice-fished and brought a few carp to our home. The carp were small, and the heaviest was about two pounds. Several carp were too much to eat at once, so Grandma preserved them by pickling and deep-frying some of them, one was made into braised carp, the method is homely, not a beautiful appearance, but very fragrant and delicious.

Carp has always been a common fish in Grandma's family. It has a high protein content and a high digestibility, which can provide the human body with essential amino acids, minerals, vitamins A and D. The fat content of carp is unsaturated fatty acids, which can effectively lower cholesterol and prevent arteriosclerosis and coronary heart disease. Therefore, eating carp often can achieve a long and healthy life.

There are many ways to eat carp. Small ones can be deep-fried or made into carp porridge, while larger ones can be steamed or braised. Grandma's method is braising. Shandong people pay attention to the thickness of the sauce when eating braised carp, so when stewing, Grandma used soybean sauce. The braised carp was truly fragrant and delicious, and everyone in the family loved it. One carp was eaten up in no time, and everyone was still feeling a little hungry. Grandma will learn how to make it specifically when she makes it next time, so now I'm going to share her steps with you.

Braised Carp

Required materials: 1 carp, 1 sprig of cilantro, 1 onion, 1 piece of ginger, 1 head of garlic, 1 gram of Sichuan peppercorns, 2 tablespoons of light soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of vinegar, 2 tablespoons of liquor, 2 tablespoons of peanut oil, a small amount of white sugar, half a tablespoon of salt, half a tablespoon of soybean paste

Specific steps:

First, prepare the carp. The carp is deep-fried after being marinated with salt, liquor and ginger, which is easy to store;

Second, chop the green onion into segments, ginger into slices, and garlic into filaments. Chop the cilantro and remove the roots and stems and cut into segments;

Third, pour peanut oil into the pot, add the green onion, ginger, garlic and Sichuan peppercorns and stir-fry until fragrant;

Fourth, pour soybean paste into the pot and stir-fry quickly before adding water;

Fifth, add two bowls of water, pour in light soy sauce, liquor, vinegar, white sugar and salt and stir to adjust the flavor;

Sixth, put the carp into a large fire to boil, then turn the heat down low and cook until the fish meat is soft and rotten, add cilantro to infuse the flavor.

Notes:

This carp is deep-fried for longer storage, so the salt added should be moderate;

After adding soybean paste to the pot, stir-fry quickly, add water to prevent it from burning and becoming bitter;

Adding vinegar can make the fish meat taste more flavorful, and adding white sugar can enhance the flavor;