Tendre fish fillet poached in seasoned water, then topped with spices, Sichuan boiled fish is tasty, pungent and super addictive.
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Pin ItI still remember exactly where I ate Sichuan boiled fish (Shui Zhu Yu/水煮鱼) for the first time. It was a tiny little restaurant specializing in Sichuan cuisine hidden in a quiet neighbourhood of Beijing.
At that moment, I only knew a few famous Sichuan dishes, such as Mapo tofu, Kong Pao chicken, Shredded pork with garlic sauce, etc.. I found Sichuan boiled fish so stunning that later on it became the one dish that I always order whenever it’s on the menu.
It’s tender & succulent
Literally, the Chinese name of Sichuan boil fish “Shui Zhu Yu (水煮鱼)” means water boiled fish. The marinated fish slices are poached briefly in seasoned water. They taste very tender, succulent and packed with flavour. Another Sichuan classic, Suan Cai Yu (Sour Vegetable Fish), shares similar characteristics.
To achieve the best result, I recommend you use fresh fillets instead of frozen ones. In China, restaurants often have fish tanks from which the customers can choose live fish to be freshly prepared for this dish (Don’t fancy fish, try Sichuan Boiled Beef instead).
It’s super spicy
As one of the most pungent Chinese dishes, authentic Sichuan boiled fish is famous for its hotness. My friend Junyang adored this dish but unfortunately, she has a low tolerance for spicy food. She used to rinse the fish in a glass of water to reduce the hotness. And little by little she has eventually increased her tolerance.
In my recipe, you can see that the spiciness comes from the generous use of 3 ingredients: dried chilli, Sichuan chilli bean paste and chilli powder.
It gives you a numbing sensation
Sichuan boiled fish is also pungent in another way: it delivers an intensive numbing sensation to your mouth by using quite a lot of Sichuan pepper (it’s an acquired taste but very addictive once you become accustomed to it).
You might have heard or used regular Sichuan pepper (Huajiao, 花椒) which is red in colour. In fact, there is another type of Sichuan pepper called Majiao (麻椒) which has the same shape and size but is green in colour. It’s often used in Sichuan boiled fish to enhance the fragrance. However, you can use regular Sichuan pepper if you can’t find the green ones.
It’s easy to cook!
Many people find it intimidating to cook Sichuan boiled fish at home. I was one of them until I had a try. It’s pretty straight forward. There’s no particular cooking skill involved. As long as you have all the ingredients to hand and follow a detailed, well-written recipe, nothing will go wrong.
When reading the recipe card below, you will notice that I put ingredients in several groups. This corresponds to different cooking steps. Please note that cooking oil is listed in different groups for various purpose. The finished dish doesn’t taste greasy despite the generous use of oil. The oil is essential to draw out the full fragrance of the spices.
Sichuan boiled fish (Shui Zhu Yu, 水煮鱼)
Ingredients
For the fish
- 250 g skinless, boneless fish fillet, 9oz (see note 1)
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 pinch white pepper
- 1 teaspoon Shaoxing rice wine
- 1 teaspoon corn starch
For the spices
- 1/2 teaspoon cooking oil
- 15 dried chilli
- 2 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorn, see note 2
For the vegetable
- 1 teaspoon cooking oil
- 250 g celery, cut into thin strips, or bean sprouts
For the broth
- 2 tablespoon cooking oil
- 2 clove garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon ginger, minced
- 1 stalk scallions, chopped
- 1.5 tablespoon Sichuan chilli bean paste, see note 3
- 1 teaspoon chilli powder
- 400 ml hot water, or chicken stock
For garnishing
- Coriander, chopped
- 2 tablespoon cooking oil
Instructions
Marinate the fish
- Slice the fish fillet diagonally. Marinate with salt, white pepper, rice wine & corn starch.
Fry the spices
- In a wok (or a deep frying pan), fry dried chilli and Sichuan pepper in oil over a low heat until fragrant (do not burn them). Chop coarsely when cooled. Set aside.
Cook the vegetable
- In the same wok, heat up oil over a medium heat, stir in celery. Cook for 1.5 minutes or so (30 seconds if using bean sprouts instead). Transfer to a serving bowl. Set aside.
Make the broth
- Heat up oil in the wok, fry garlic, ginger and spring onion. Add Sichuan chilli bean paste and chilli powder. Pour in water (or chicken stock). Bring it to a full boil.
Cook the fish
- Gently place the fish slices into the wok. When cooked, pour the fish and the soup onto the vegetable.
Garnishing
- Top with fried spices and coriander. Heat up oil then pour over to sizzle the spices. Serve immediately with plain rice.
Notes
Your Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Can I use red snapper for fish. Thanks in advance.
Yes, red snapper works for this dish. Just slice the fillet thinly so it cooks quickly.
This is my favorite off menu dish at my favorite Asian restaurant. I’m going to make this tonight and put an enoki mushrooms in because that’s what the restaurant I go to does in addition to the celery and I was curious if you had any thoughts about when the mushrooms. I’m also using flounder because I think that’s what the restaurant uses.
Enoki mushrooms cook very quickly, so you can add them at the same time as the fish. Flounder is a great choice for this dish too.
This was so delicious and easier to make than I expected! I used lingcod that my husband caught near the farallon islands near San Francisco, and half celery, half cabbage for the vegetable. It was nice and spicy, and the recipe is super flexible. I’m definitely adding this to our fish recipe rotation, and I will be on the lookout for a fancier Sichuan chili bean paste.
Thank you for sharing this. Your vegetable combination sounds great. I’m glad the dish has earned a spot in your fish rotation.
I see you use the ingredient “chilli powder.” The chilli powders I am most familiar with are the ones that use chiles I usually associate with Mexican-style foods, like ancho, guajillo, cayenne. Is this what I should use in your recipe? Would you recommend one type over another? (cayenne is much hotter than ancho, for example) Or is there a different kind of pepper I should use to get the best flavor. Thank you.
In Chinese recipes, ‘chili powder’ usually refers to plain ground dried chili peppers, without other added spices. The exact type isn’t fixed. You can use a variety that matches your preferred heat level. If you only have Mexican-style chili powder blends, you can use them as substitute, but just note they often contain extra spices which might slightly change the flavor. The dish will still turn out tasty though. Happy cooking!
Thank you.
Amazing, and easy to make! This is one of my most favorite dishes in the whole world. The hardest part was getting the Chinese spices and sauces because I live in a rural area with no Asian markets.
I tried it with celery, but prefer Napa cabbage for this dish. I will be making it a lot, so I think I will just try it with any non root vegetable that I have too much of! I also love spicy food, so I increased the peppers by 50%.
I’ve made it 3 times in a week. My wife is worried that I will become a spicy fish, lol.
Thanks so much for your recipe, I look forward to trying more of them out!
So glad you loved it! and wow, three times in a week! Love the idea of swapping in whatever veggies you have on hand, and boosting the spice is always a win. Thanks for the kind words, Will!
I like Napa cabbage too. Would like to make this dish. Can I ask when do you add the cabbage. Is it in the same sequence as the celery in the recipe above.
Yes, just treat it as celery in the recipe. Happy cooking!