Chinese · Shandong · main

Sweet and Sour Yellow River Carp (Tang Cu Li Yu)

Sweet and Sour Yellow River Carp (Tang Cu Li Yu) reads umami 5.7, salinity 5.2 and sweetness 5.0 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Chinese · Shandong main, about 29 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

• Umami & Savory — 6.5 / 10
• Sweet & Fruity — 5.0 / 10
• Sour & Bright — 1.9 / 10
• Bitter & Earthy — 1.0 / 10
• Rich & Fat — 5.3 / 10
• Aromatic & Spice — 4.4 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Umami 5.7 · Salinity 5.2 · Sweetness 5.0 · Richness 4.3 · Allium 4.0 · Nutty 3.2 · Funk & Ferment 2.8 · Herbaceous 2.3 · Warm Spice 2.0 · Sourness 1.9 · Bitterness 0.9 · Earthy 0.7

What's in it (17)

• whole carp — 100 g
• salt — 5 g
• shaoxing wine — 30 g
• potato starch — 100 g
• all-purpose flour — 50 g
• egg — 50 g
• cold water — 120 g
• peanut oil — 1380 g
• caster sugar — 120 g
• chinkiang black vinegar — 100 g
• soy sauce — 30 g
• chicken stock — 200 g
• garlic — 9 g
• fresh ginger — 15 g
• potato starch — 22 g
• cold water — 44 g
• spring onions — 330 g

Time & effort: about 29 min (14 min active) · effort: involved

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 90.1 kcal, 2 g protein, 1.5 g fat, 17.6 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat · Contains seafood · Contains egg — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (7 steps)

1. Score the fish on both sides: hold the knife at a shallow angle and cut down to the bone every 3 cm, then make a second set of cuts crossing the first. Deep scoring is what lets the flesh open into the fan shape the dish is named for, and what lets the middle cook before the outside burns.
2. Rub with the salt and Shaoxing wine, working them into the cuts, and leave 15 minutes. Pat dry.
3. Whisk the potato starch, flour, egg and cold water to a batter about the consistency of double cream. Open out each cut and paint batter inside as well as over the skin.
4. Heat the oil to 180 C. Hold the fish by the tail and lower it in head first, ladling oil over the exposed part, then let it go and fry 6 to 8 minutes until deep gold and rigid. Lift out, bring the oil up to 200 C and fry a second time for 90 seconds. The double fry is what keeps it crisp long enough to reach the table under sauce.
5. For the sauce, heat 2 tbsp of the frying oil in a clean wok, fry the garlic and ginger 20 seconds, then add the sugar, vinegar, soy sauce and stock. Boil 2 minutes, whisk in the slaked starch and cook about 1 minute until syrupy and clear. Taste: sour first, then sweet, with the soy holding it down. Jinan cooks use no tomato ketchup here; the red-orange versions came later and elsewhere.
6. Set the fish on a platter, curved like a leaping carp, pour the sauce over so it crackles, scatter the spring onions and serve straight away.
7. Substitutions: mirror carp can stand in for the whole carp.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

• Korean-Style Marinated Skirt Steak With Grilled Scallions — Korean
• Chicken Teriyaki with Steamed Rice — Japanese
• Chicken Yakitori Skewers — Japanese
• Steamed Minced Pork with Salted Egg (Ham Daan Zing Yuk Beng) — Chinese · Cantonese
• Egg Roll Bowl with Ground Turkey — Chinese-American

Keep reading: what umami, salinity, sweetness mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.