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Sichuan fish fillet in a tingly, chilli-topped broth — made with fillet, not a whole fish.
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West Lake Vinegar Fish
Hangzhou's most famous fish: a grass carp, purged for two days, poached whole for three to four minutes, then glossed with a vinegar-forward sweet-sour sauce and hot oil. Adapted for a home kitchen from the original ClouChef R&D report — 西湖醋鱼, report 52.
Original poster image from clouchef.com (poster: 西湖醋鱼_52.jpeg). This is the hero poster only, not a step-by-step photo set.
Prep: 2 daysCook: 6 minutesTotal: 2 days 6 minutesServings: 2–3Difficulty: HardRegion: Zhejiang (Hangzhou)Flavour: Sweet-sour, vinegar-forward, delicate
Why this works
The report's most demanding instruction is also its most easily skipped, and it is the one that decides whether the fish tastes of the lake or of mud: a live grass carp must be kept unfed in clean water for forty-eight hours, with the water changed twice a day, to purge the earthy, muddy flavour that farmed freshwater fish carry. After that the cooking is almost shockingly brief — three to four minutes in boiling water, covered, skin-side up, until just cooked through — because the report warns that any longer makes the flesh fall apart and lose its tenderness, which is the whole point of a poached fish. The sauce is then built from the poaching liquid itself, two hundred millilitres of it, with thirty millilitres of vinegar to twenty-five grams of sugar, a ratio that keeps the sourness forward and the sweetness soft, never cloying. A final pour of oil at one hundred and eighty degrees over fresh ginger shreds wakes the plate without cooking the fish further.
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Ingredients
| Ingredient | US | Metric | Substitute / note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Live grass carp | 1.2–1.5 jin | About 600–750 g | Purge unfed in clean water for 48 hours, changing the water twice daily, per the report. Any whole freshwater carp of similar size works (adaptation). |
| Water, for poaching | About 4 cups | 1000 ml | Boil with ginger and wine before the fish goes in. |
| Ginger shreds | 0.35 oz total | 10 g total | 5 g in the poaching water, 5 g to finish. |
| Cooking wine | 2 tsp + 2 tsp | 10 ml + 10 ml | 10 ml in the poaching water, 10 ml for marinating the fish (optional, per the report). |
| Poaching liquid, reserved | ⅔ cup + 2 tbsp | 200 ml | For the sauce. |
| Zhenjiang fragrant vinegar | 2 tbsp | 30 ml | — |
| Sugar | 0.9 oz | 25 g | Rock sugar or white sugar, per the report. |
| Light soy sauce | 1 tbsp | 15 ml | — |
| Corn starch slurry, for thickening | To taste | To taste | Quantity not stated in the report; add until the sauce is thick and glossy (adaptation, labelled here). |
| Hot oil, for pouring | 1 tbsp + 1 tsp | 20 ml | Heated to 180 °C. |
Equipment
- Large pot or wok that fits a whole fish, with a lid
- Slotted spoon or two spatulas for lifting the fish whole
- Long serving plate
Steps
- Purge the fish (48 hours). Keep the live grass carp unfed in a clean-water tank or large container for 48 hours, changing the water twice a day, to remove earthy and muddy flavours. The report requires at least 48 hours.
- Clean and score. Kill, scale, remove gills and innards, keeping head and tail. Split the body into two fillets along the spine (one with the spine, one without) and score 3–4 cuts on the inside of each fillet, down to the bone but not through it. Optionally rub with 10 ml cooking wine and 2 slices of ginger for 10 minutes.
- Poach briefly. Bring 1000 ml water to a boil with 5 g ginger shreds and 10 ml cooking wine. Place the fish skin-side up in the boiling water, cover, and cook over high heat for 3–4 minutes until just cooked through. Lift out carefully at once with a slotted spoon, drain, and place skin-side up on a long plate, keeping its shape whole.
- Make the sauce. Take 200 ml of the poaching liquid, add the vinegar, sugar and light soy, bring to a boil over medium heat, and thicken with corn starch slurry, stirring until thick and glossy, about 1–2 minutes.
- Pour and finish. Pour the sauce evenly over the fish, scatter the remaining 5 g ginger shreds on top, and pour 20 ml oil heated to 180 °C over the fish to release the aroma. Serve at once.
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Technique: forty-eight hours of patience, four minutes of cooking
The purge and the poach are mirror images: the first takes two days and cannot be rushed, the second takes four minutes and cannot be extended. Over-poaching is the classic failure — the fish looks intact in the pot and falls apart on the plate. Judge doneness by the flesh just turning opaque, not by a timer alone, and lift the fish with two spatulas so it keeps its shape.
Variations
- No purge tank: buy the freshest carp you can and rinse it very well; the flavour will be less clean than the report's purged fish, and that difference should be expected (adaptation).
- Less sour: keep the vinegar-to-sugar ratio close to 30 ml to 25 g; reducing the vinegar much further makes it a different, sweeter dish (adaptation).
Frequently asked questions
Why purge the fish for two days?
To remove the muddy, earthy flavour of farmed freshwater fish. The report requires at least 48 hours unfed, with twice-daily water changes.
Why only three to four minutes?
Grass carp of this size cooks through that fast in boiling water, and longer cooking makes it fall apart and lose tenderness.
Is the fish served hot or cold?
Hot, freshly sauced — the sauce and hot-oil pour are done at serving, not ahead.
Storage and freezing
Best eaten fresh and hot. Leftovers keep 1 day refrigerated; reheat gently until steaming hot — the delicate texture will not fully recover. Do not freeze poached whole fish.
West Lake Vinegar Fish — Recipe Card
Purged grass carp, poached whole, in a vinegar-forward sweet-sour sauce.
Prep: 2 daysCook: 6 minutesTotal: 2 days 6 minutesServings: 2–3
Ingredients: About 600–750 g live grass carp; 1000 ml water for poaching; 10 g ginger shreds; 20 ml cooking wine; 200 ml reserved poaching liquid; 30 ml fragrant vinegar; 25 g sugar; 15 ml light soy; corn starch slurry to thicken (quantity not stated in report); 20 ml hot oil.
Steps: 1) Purge 48 hours. 2) Clean and score. 3) Poach covered 3–4 minutes, lift whole. 4) Make sauce, pour over, finish with ginger and hot oil.
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Source note: ingredients, quantities and steps are adapted from the original ClouChef R&D report for 西湖醋鱼 (data/reports/52.md). The report's pricing, margin and marketing sections are deliberately omitted here; no B2B cost is presented as a home-cook cost. The starch-slurry quantity, which the report does not state, is labelled as such and is not invented here. Home servings (2–3, from one restaurant fish) are an adaptation. Original poster image: clouchef.com (西湖醋鱼_52.jpeg).