Chinese Gingered Fish

Ingredients

• 1.1000 gram kingklip, cut into fingers
• 2.60 millilitre self-raising flour, for coating
• 3.5 millilitre salt, for coating
• 4.5 millilitre Maggi Fondor, or Aromat; for coating
• 5.1.25 millilitre black pepper, for coating
• 6.2 eggs, beaten; for coating
• 7.canned mushrooms, drained and sliced; for sauce
• 8.60 millilitre white vinegar, for sauce
• 9.60 millilitre sugar, for sauce
• 10.30 millilitre ginger syrup, from preserved ginger jar; for sauce
• 11.15 millilitre soya sauce, for sauce
• 12.60 millilitre water, for sauce
• 13.15 millilitre maizena, cornstarch; slaked with a little water; for thickening sauce
• 14.preserved ginger, 2–3 pieces; finely sliced
• 15.beansprouts, ¼ packet or 1 can; drained
• 16.spring onion, snipped; for garnish
• 17.pineapple chunks, fresh or canned; for garnish
• 18.celery, cut into curls; for garnish
• 19.glacé cherries, red; for garnish
• 20.cashews, salted; for garnish

Method

1. 1.Mix the flour, salt, Maggi and pepper. Dip fish in the seasoned flour, shake off excess, then dip in the beaten egg. Fry in hot oil. Drain fish on brown paper.
2. 2.An onion sliced in half added to the hot oil gives a nice flavour.
3. 3.Simmer the mushrooms, vinegar, sugar, syrup, soya and water for 5 minutes.
4. 4.Slake the maizena with a little water and add to the simmering sauce. Maizena has an acid base and needs to be cooked over low heat. Cook, stirring all the while until the sauce has thickened.
5. 5.If serving the fish cold, pour sauce over fish just before serving. Sprinkle over the beansprouts and the spring onion. Decorate with the pineapple, celery curls, glacé cherries and the salted cashews.
6. 6.If serving this dish hot, add sauce, beansprouts and spring onion at the table.
7. 7.If you need to rewarm fish, cover with tin foil and warm in a 350°F oven.

Notes

• Recipe spans two pages in the original binder (ingredients and method start on one page, serving instructions on the next).
• Maizena = South African brand name for cornstarch/cornflour.
• Maggi Fondor = Swiss seasoning widely sold in South Africa.
• Aromat = South African seasoning brand (similar to Maggi seasoning).
• Card note: 'This sauce tastes good over fried chicken breasts.'