Halibut with Tofu in Crispy Bean Sauce

When we were in Vancouver, B.C., Canada last year, we tried out a spicy fish dish at 老四川 (Old Szechwan Restaurant) and fell in love with it. The texture of the fish was as soft as the soft tofu.

Tonight, I attempted this dish with a vacuum packed frozen cod fish. I used Trader Joe's roasted soy nuts to give this mouth-watering dish, the extra crunch.

(reference: Chinese Cuisine Szechwan Style by Lee Hwa Lin)
Ingredients:

1 piece of Halibut or Cod fish marinate (30 minutes) with:

• 6 sections Green Onion
• 4 slices ginger
• 1 Tbsp cooking wine
• 1/4 tsp each salt, pepper

enough cornstarch to coat the fish if you are pan frying.
110g (4 oz) minced pork (or 1 piece of soft tofu cut to chunks)
90g beige fermented beans (or 2 Tbsps of roasted soynuts from Trader Joes)
1/2 Tsp sugar
1 Tbsp hot soy bean paste
1 Tbsp sesame oil
1/2 Tbsp minced green onion
(1/4 cup of stock)

Method:

Steam the marinated fish for 12 minutes, remove and drain. (Instead of steaming the fish, I apply a thin coat of cornstarch and pan fry until golden on both sides, in a non-stick pan)

Heat the wok, add 4 Tbsp oil (I used only 1 Tbsp).

Stir fry pork until done, add in beans and sugar. Fry until beans are crispy. (I skipped this step because I did not use pork and beige fermented beans.)


Then mix in hot bean paste and stock. When the mixture is boiling, add tofu and cook for 2 minutes.


Add in green onion and sesame oil. (Sprinkle with roasted soy nuts.) Mix thoroughly and spread over the fish and serve.