That is why, when I want some good ideas, I call her up and pick her brain. This happened again a couple of weeks ago, and she mentioned a dish she's come to enjoy a whole lot: Jiangsu's Stir-fried Fish with Pine Nuts. She briefly described it, and I went to work.
I have to admit, I am an unrepentant sucker when it comes to nuts in just about any kind of dish, and the generous proportion of nuts to fish here makes me particularly happy. But the lovely little cubes of cod are nothing to sniff at, as they are crispy on the outside, their crunchy but light coating contrasting perfectly with the delicate white meat.
You can dress this up with fresh or dried chilies, if you
like, or green onions or ginger or whatever you’re hungry for that evening.
This really is a classic black dress of a dish that can be made as fancy or as
simple as you like. What I prefer in this case is the gentle aroma of finely
minced garlic hovering in the background as an unobtrusive bolster for the
vibrantly toasty pine nuts.
Stir-fried fish with pine nuts
Sōngzĭ chǎo yúdīng
Jiangsu
Sōngzĭ chǎo yúdīng
Jiangsu
Serves 4
1 cup shelled raw pine nuts (see Tips)
 |
| Start the nuts in cold oil |
6 tablespoons peanut or vegetable oil
1 pound fresh cod, skinned and boned (see Tips)
¼ cup potato starch or cornstarch (see Tips)
½ teaspoon sea salt
4 cloves garlic, peeled and finely minced
6 tablespoons Shaoxing rice wine
1. Put the pine nuts and the oil in a cold wok and slowly
heat the nuts over medium heat (see Tips), stirring as needed, until the nuts
are toasty and golden. Use a slotted spoon to remove them from the wok to a
small work bowl, and leave the oil in the wok. Let them cool to room
temperature while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
2. Rinse the cod and pat it dry with a paper towel. Cut the
cod into ½-inch squares and place it in a medium work bowl. Toss the cod with
the potato starch so that each piece is completely coated.
3. Heat the oil over high heat until it shimmers and swirl
in the salt so that it dissolves. Add the cod in batches to keep the fish cubes
from sticking to each other; toss the cod in the hot oil, and as soon as the
cubes are nice and golden, remove them to a clean work bowl. Repeat with the
rest of the cod until all are cooked, adding more oil, if necessary.
4. Drain off all but 1 tablespoon of the oil. Add the
minced garlic to the hot oil and stir it around quickly to release its
fragrance, but don’t let it brown. Toss in the fried fish cubes and the rice
wine and stir-fry them all quickly until most of the wine has evaporated. Toss in
the pine nuts, adjust the seasoning, and serve hot.
 |
| Perfectly toasted |
Tips
Get really fresh pine nuts for this dish, as musty ones
will just ruin it. Store them in the freezer if you don’t use pine nuts that often;
they don’t need to be defrosted before using.
The same goes for the fish; frozen cod is fine, but defrost
it completely and squeeze it gently once it has defrosted, as this fish tends
to get waterlogged. Pat it very dry with paper towels before tossing it with
the potato starch.
Potato starch is very nice here, as it provides the fish
with a very craggy, crunchy crust, but cornstarch will do just fine if you don’t
have it. I use a Taiwanese brand of potato starch with a smiling sweet potato and a
yellow label.
Frying nuts over low heat and starting
with cold oil is the secret to having crispy nuts that aren't either burned
or still raw in the center.
