Chinese Salt & Pepper Fish. Crispy fish with a delicious with a flavourful and spicy kick. Ready in 20 minutes and great as a main course!
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This easy Chinese salt and pepper fishĀ recipe is so effortless and made with simple ingredients! My version is also not deep-fried but shallow fried in oil making it slightly more healthier than the version at the Chinese restaurant.
This is a classic and popular Chinese dish served at many Chinese restaurants and it pairs deliciously with steamed white rice and saucy vegetables. I always order it with my husband because I love that crispy fish flavored in those tasty aromatics!
It's a great main dish for a busy weeknight meal when you're craving fish! The best part is that it's made with minimal ingredients in little time. You can also use frozen fish for this recipe too!
Ingredients
Please scroll down to below recipe card for exact measurements.Ā
- Cod filets: or substitute with any white sturdy fish like haddock or pollock. Fresh or frozen fish both work and make sure it's skinless.
- Fresh garlic cloves
- Red chili
- Fresh ginger
- Spring onion or green onion
- White granulated sugar: or substitute with cane sugar
- Shaoxing wine:Ā this is a Chinese rice wine. You may also substitute with Dry Sherry.
- Neutral oil:Ā like avocado oil, sunflower oil, peanut oil, vegetable oil or canola oil with a high smoke point. Avoid olive oil or any heavy scented oils with a low smoke point.
- Salt and pepper
Fish Marinade
- Shaoxing wine:Ā or Dry Sherry.
- Black pepper
- Large egg
- Cornstarch: or substitute with potato starch
- Salt
Note: Most Asian grocery stores will carry most of the Asian specific ingredients.
Expert Tips
- Prepare all the ingredients in advance as the cooking process is quick!
- Make sure to use skinless fillets so you don't need to remove the skin yourself.
How to make Chinese Salt and Pepper Fish
- Pat fish fillets very dry with paper towels to remove excess moisture and dice into bite-sized pieces.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine marinade ingredients and add in diced fish. Mix well until each piece of fish is coated. Set aside.
- Heat vegetable oil in a large pan on medium-heat. Insert a wooden chopstick into the oil and when you see bubbles form, the oil is hot enough for frying.
- Shallow fry battered fish until golden brown and crispy, about 7 minutes. Remove fried fish and transfer to a wire rack or paper towel lined plate to remove excess oil. Discard excess oil in the pan.
- On medium heat, sautƩ ginger, garlic, green onions, red chilli, and sugar. Toss in battered fish. Add in Shaoxing wine. Toss the fish in the aromatics and cooking wine. Remove off heat. Season with salt and pepper to taste and enjoy!
Storage & Reheating
Leftovers will last up to 4 days stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. To reheat, microwave for 2-3 minutes until hot or reheat in a pan on medium heat.
Other recipes you may like!
- Chinese Salt & Pepper Tofu
- Salt & Pepper Shrimp
- Salt & Pepper Pork
- Sriracha Mayo Salmon
- Cantonese Cream Corn Fish
- HK Style Fish Fillet in Cream Pasta
š Recipe
Quick & Easy Chinese Salt and Pepper Fish
Ingredients
- 1.75 lb cod filet or sub with haddock or pollock that is skinless
- 6 cloves garlic minced
- 1 large red chilli sliced
- 2 teaspoon ginger chopped
- 2 green onion chopped
- 1 teaspoon white granulated sugar or sub with cane sugar
- 1.5 tablespoon Shaoxing wine or sub with dry sherry wine
- ā cup vegetable oil or any neutral oil for frying fish
- salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
Fish Marinade
- 6 tablespoon cornstarch or potato starch
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoon Shaoxing wine or sub with dry sherry wine
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Pat fish fillets very dry with paper towels to remove excess moisture and dice into bite-sized pieces.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine marinade ingredients and add in diced fish. Mix well until each piece of fish is coated. Set aside.
- Heat vegetable oil in a large pan on medium-heat. Insert a wooden chopstick into the oil and when you see bubbles form, the oil is hot enough for frying.
- Shallow fry battered fish until golden brown and crispy, about 7 minutes. Remove fried fish and transfer to a wire rack or paper towel lined plate to remove excess oil. Discard excess oil in the pan.
- On medium heat, sautƩ ginger, garlic, green onions, red chilli, and sugar. Toss in battered fish. Add in Shaoxing wine. Toss the fish in the aromatics and cooking wine. Remove off heat. Season with salt and pepper to taste and enjoy!
Katherine | Love In My Oven
Looks delicious, Christie! We're definitely trying to get more fish into our diets and this looks like a yummy way to do it! So crispy!!
Rebecca Dillon
This recipe sounds so tasty AND healthy! Can't wait to try it.
Brian
This was so good! I made it last night and it had such a great spicy taste.
Heidi | The Frugal Girls
I love how you started this recipe with MSC certified cod filets... and the flavors you've added are so perfect! šš
Joe
It came out very yummy! I found that the step of patting the fish dry is crucial otherwise the fish ends up not being crispy. I was a bit uncertain about how much fish is "two pieces." I cooked with 2lbs of fish and that worked out pretty well. Also remember to include the scallions in step 4 (at least I assume that's when they're supposed to go in). Thanks for all the info on sustainable fish!
christieathome
Thank you so much Joe for your kind review! Iām so glad you enjoyed the recipe and thanks for the note on how much fish you used! And oops, forgot the step on the scallions so thank you for reminding me to include that. Have a great day!
sally
I love how my fish turned out, I was using Pollock fillets, for the first time, because it was fishy, I decided this is the right recipe to take care of the "problem" and it did. Thank you for sharing.
christieathome
Thanks so much for sharing your kind comment with me Sally! Happy my recipe helped take care of that problem! Have a great day!