Chinese Food Recipes - Seafood & Aquatic Food

Popular Seafood in China:

Braised Pomfret

Chinese name: 红烧鲳鱼 (hóng shāo chāng yú)
Characteristics: Braised Pomfret is salty and fresh, with an attractive golden color.

Being a home-style dish, Braised Pomfret is simple to cook by following a recipe. Pomfret is a welcomed fish among the people, for it has more meat and few bones. It is rich in protein, unsaturated fatty acids and multi-microelements. Thus, it is really a good food helping to replenish qi (essential energy), nourish the blood and calm the nerves.

Ingredients:

1 pomfret, around 400 g (a cleaned one whose scales and entrails have been removed.)
green onion sections
ginger slices
dry chili peppers
salt
five spices powder
soy sauce
white sugar
vinegar
cooking wine
Note: the amount of the ingredients especially the seasonings listed above can be appropriately used according to one's personal taste.

Methods:

STEP

Place a wok over high heat until hot. Add some cooking oil, and add in the cleaned pomfret. Turn to medium heat, and fry it for about 1 minute on both sides. Remove the pomfret from the wok.

STEP

Add in salt, five spices powder, soy sauce, cooking wine, white sugar, vinegar and 1/3 bowl of water, and heat over high heat until the juice is boiling. Add in the fried pomfret.

STEP

Add in ginger slices, green onion sections and dry chili peppers. Stew it for a further 6-8 minutes over medium heat.

STEP

Turn off the heat. Remove the pomfret from the wok and serve on a plate. Pour the juice in the wok on to the plate. Braised Pomfret is ready to be enjoyed.

Our Guests Attending Cooking Class

Ms. Pamela in the Kitchen

On November 15 2013, Mr. Murray and Ms. Pamela from Australia joined a Chinese cooking class specially offered by a skillful hostess in a local family in Xi'an. They both loved Chinese food very much and learnt to cook Braised Pomfret very successfully. What a fun hands-on experience! Also, they really loved the personal touch of eating a home cooked meal in a Chinese family. Pamela told us that she learnt some ideas and would like to take them home so that she could improve her own stir-fry style of cooking.
Mr. Roy and His Family Dining in a Chinese Family

On Sep. 12, 2011, Mr. Roy, Mr. Jeremy & Ms. Monica from Australia paid a private visit to a typical family in Xi'an. The hospitable and easy-going hostess made them feel at home, so they learned to cook Braised Pomfret and Pan Fried Dumplings (Guo Tie) successfully.
Mr. Frank & Ms. Sangi in a Chinese Family

On Sep. 30, 2010, Mr. Frank & Ms. Sangi from USA had a special family tour under the arrangement of TravelChinaGuide, through which they had a wonderful experience to know more about the local people's life at home, and learned to cook a popular Chinese dish Braised Pomfret.

See details at Mr. Frank's feedback

- Last updated on Jul. 03, 2019 -

Questions & Answers on Braised Pomfret

Asked by Jeanette Lee from USA | Mar. 04, 2014 14:45

I asked for a stew, with more ingredients than just eggs steamed.

Answers (2)

Answered by Mike | Mar. 05, 2014 00:41

Ok, you might learn to cook oyster soup. The ingredients include 20 oysters, 1/2 cup white wine, 3 tablespoons of cream, 1/2 cup of flour, 3 cups of milk, 2 cups of chicken soup, salt and pepper powder. Please follow the following steps:

1. wash and clean oysters, pour 1/2 cup of white wine into a boiler and then boil oysters for two minutes over gentle heat. You can add some mineral water if the white wine evaporates too quickly.

2. heat boiler, pour 3 tablespoons of cream inside and wait until cream melts. Then put 1/2 cup of flour into the boiler and fry for a second.

3. Pour milk and chicken soup into the boiler and boil up the mixture. Then pour boiled oyster into the boiler and season with salt and pepper powder when the mixture reaches the boiling point.

Answered by Brandon Li | Dec. 14, 2014 14:10

Here are 2 recipes that my Chinese Grandma from Hong Kong has used before

HOE SEE FAT CHOY
12 dried oysters
8 black mushrooms
small handful of black moss (fat choi)
1/2 c. superior stock
2 T oyster sauce
1 t sugar
1 t sesame oil
1 t cornstarch mixed in 1 T water

Soak the black moss, dried oysters and mushrooms separately for one hour in water. Rinse the black moss and the oysters to remove sand or grit. Drain the mushrooms, reserving the liquid. Briefly stirfry the soaked oysters, add the mushrooms, chicken stock, oyster sauce, sugar, mushroom soaking water and black moss. Simmer until the mushrooms are soft. Add in the cornstarch water and sesame oil, stir until slick. Garnish with cilantro and spring onion.
****Note Grandma also adds a teaspoon of minced garlic and ginger at the beginning

Asked by J. Lee from USA | Feb. 27, 2014 19:25

I am Chinese. I wish a Chinese oyster stew recipe which is nutritious as well.

Answers (1)

Answered by Mike from SINGAPORE | Mar. 03, 2014 20:15

Here is a very easy recipe for Chinese oyster. First, wash and clean oysters. Second, beat two or three eggs, add some salt. Third, put cleaned oysters into beaten eggs and then steam for 15 to 20 minutes. Then you can enjoy steamed egg custard with oysters.

This is one of my favorite dishes.