China · Chinese
Basket-roasted mandarin fish
A mandarin fish scored and stuffed with ham slices and chicken mince, wrapped first in pork caul fat then in a cold-water dough wrapper, and charcoal-roasted about 40 minutes; the wrappers are peeled off at the table. A “white roast” in the Kongfu red-and-white roast category. This home version uses an oven. Public reference · home adaptation, not a historical original.
Public reference · Home adaptation Basket-roasted mandarin fish is a Kongfu classic and one of the “white roast” dishes in the mansion’s red-and-white roast category — roasted but never seared directly over flame, to keep the flesh pale and sweet. “Gui” sounds like “noble” and “yue” like “surplus”, making “noble and abundant”, so it always appears at celebratory feasts. One account has a Shandong prefect praising it at a birthday visit to the mansion in the Daoguang period, after which a relative of a household adviser opened a restaurant in Jinan and the technique spread. Flower-basket mandarin fish was among the first dishes trialled by the Kongfu research team in 1984. Peeling the wrappers only at the table is the heart of the ritual. The traditional method charcoal-roasts about 40 minutes, roughly 20 per side; this version uses a home oven, setting the wrapper first at low heat, brushing it with egg yolk, then roasting at medium heat for about 30 minutes. Oven behaviour differs, so adjust by watching for cracks in the wrapper and the colour of the fish. All weights and temperatures are editorial and untested. Kong cooking relies on ham, chicken mince and stock rather than MSG or chicken bouillon; this version follows that and adds neither. Contains fish, wheat (flour), egg, pork (caul fat, ham) and wheat from the cooking wine; vinegar may contain sulphites. The fish must be thoroughly cooked. **香醋的亚硫酸盐提示**：市售酿造香醋常以二氧化硫/亚硫酸盐作为防腐与护色剂，属常见致敏物质；本项目过敏原枚举不含 sulfite，故未写入 allergens 字段，此处以文字提示。对二氧化硫敏感者请改选无添加或标注不添加二氧化硫的醋品。 百度百科：花揽桂鱼 — The full Kongfu roast process: gutting through the mouth to keep the fish whole, stuffing, ham in the diagonal cuts and mince in the straight cuts, wrapping in caul fat and then in a cold-water dough, and peeling both off after roasting, plus the modern oven method of setting low, brushing yolk and roasting at medium heat. This is the source of the steps used here. https://baike.baidu.com/view/314570.html 百度百科：花蓝桂鱼 — The original charcoal parameters of roughly 20 minutes per side, the pale tender flesh, the flower-basket shape, the “noble and abundant” meaning and the story of Lady Tao of the seventy-sixth generation. https://baike.baidu.com/view/377789.htm 新浪：忆孔府菜研究专家张廉明 — Flower-basket mandarin fish was among the first dishes trialled by the research team in 1984, together with Zhang Lianming’s account of roasting rather than searing, alternating ham and mince in the scores, the double caul-fat and dough wrapping, and about 40 minutes over charcoal. https://k.sina.com.cn/article_2011075080_77de920802001gqqe.html AI-generated illustration; not kitchen-tested.
Ingredients
- whole mandarin fish, about 700 g700 g
- cooked ham, sliced thinly20 g
- chicken breast, minced40 g
- egg white, to bind the mince15 g
- pork caul fat150 g
- plain flour, for the wrapper150 g
- egg yolk, to brush the wrapper15 g
- cooking wine30 ml
- fine salt4 g
- unsalted stock, for seasoning50 ml
- ginger, minced, to serve15 g
- black vinegar, to serve30 ml
Directions
- 1
Scale and gut the fish through the mouth so the shape stays whole, remove the dorsal fin and tail, slip it into boiling water briefly, then wipe off loose scales and moisture with a cloth and trim the fins.
- 2
Cut diagonal scores on one side, laying in a slice of ham and a layer of chicken mince in every other cut; on the other side cut straight scores and fill each with mince. Rub salt, wine and stock over the fish inside and out and leave about 15 minutes.
- 3
Beat the mince with egg white, salt and a little stock until springy in one direction; pack it into the belly too and smooth the surface.
- 4
Wrap the prepared fish tightly in a sheet of pork caul fat, enclosing head and tail with no gaps.
- 5
Make a cold-water dough with the flour and roll it into a thin disc about 45 cm across. Lay the wrapped fish in the middle and draw the dough up around it, sealing the seam firmly so no juices escape.
- 6
Heat the oven to 160°C and bake the wrapped fish about 15 minutes to set the dough; brush the surface with egg yolk, then return at 175°C for about 30 minutes more.
- 7
It is done when the wrapper has cracked and the flesh turns from translucent to opaque; move it to a tray and rest about 3 minutes so the juices settle.
- 8
Only at the table, peel away the dough and the caul fat, lay the fish flat in the centre of the dish and serve immediately with ginger and vinegar on the side.
Source: WorldBite · public-reference adaptation · Source-attributed editorial adaptation; AI illustration; not an authenticated original recipe.