Spicy Boiled Fish
Sichuan fish fillet in a tingly, chilli-topped broth — made with fillet, not a whole fish.
← Home · Hunan stew fish tofu
Yellow Catfish and Tofu Stew
Small yellow catfish, pan-fried golden, then simmered with silken tofu into a milky, lightly spicy broth. Adapted for a home kitchen from the original ClouChef R&D report — 黄鸭叫煮豆腐, report 15.
Original poster image from clouchef.com (poster: 黄鸭叫煮豆腐_15.jpeg). This is the hero poster only, not a step-by-step photo set.
Prep: 10 minutesCook: 20 minutesTotal: 30 minutesServings: 2Difficulty: Easy–MediumRegion: HunanFlavour: Fresh-spicy (milky fish broth)
Why this works
The milky broth is not a trick of added cream but of technique: a golden-fried fish hit with boiling stock. Frying the catfish on medium heat until both sides are golden seals the skin and builds flavour, and pouring in stock that is already boiling shocks the fried surfaces so their fats emulsify into the liquid, turning it opaque white within five minutes of hard boiling. Cold stock would never do this — it would simply poach the fish and leave a clear, thin soup. Tofu goes in only after the broth turns white, so it stays intact and does not cloud the soup with broken curd, and salt goes in last, because early salt draws water from both fish and tofu and toughens them. A final thirty-second reduction with green garlic leaves the broth just thick enough to coat the fish. Serve it bubbling in its pan, with plain rice to catch the milky broth that is too good to leave.
ADVERTISEMENT — PLACEHOLDER
Ingredients
| Ingredient | US | Metric | Substitute / note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yellow catfish (huang gugu / yellow croaker catfish), cleaned, about 3 fish | 8.8 oz | 250 g | Small scaleless catfish; if unavailable, use small whole catfish or catfish steaks — the broth will still work (adaptation). Specialist ingredient outside China. |
| Silken tofu, cut into 2 cm cubes | 7 oz | 200 g | Half a block; soak briefly in lightly salted water to firm it. |
| Pork or chicken stock, boiling | 1⅔ cups | 400 ml | Must be boiling when it hits the pan — this is the report's key control point. |
| Ginger slices | 0.5 oz | 15 g | — |
| Garlic cloves, crushed | 0.35 oz | 10 g | — |
| Millet chillies, sliced into rings | 0.35 oz | 10 g | — |
| Green garlic segments | 0.35 oz | 10 g | Or spring onion segments (adaptation). |
| Rapeseed or neutral cooking oil | 2 tbsp | 30 ml | — |
| Salt | ½ tsp | 3 g | Added last, per the report. |
| White pepper | Pinch | 1 g | — |
| Chicken powder or MSG | ½ tsp | 2 g | Optional; omit if you prefer (adaptation). |
Equipment
- Large skillet or wok — no wok required (adaptation)
- Shallow clay pot or iron pan for serving, if available
Steps
- Prepare. Clean the catfish, removing innards and gills, keeping the swim bladder if you like (the report keeps it for texture). Cut the tofu into 2 cm cubes and soak briefly in lightly salted water. Slice the ginger, crush the garlic, ring the chillies and cut the green garlic.
- Fry the fish. Heat the oil to about 180 °C (70% heat). Fry the catfish on medium heat until golden on both sides, about 2 minutes per side, without moving them until set — moving early tears the skin.
- Make the milky broth. Pour the boiling stock around the edge of the pan. Add the ginger, garlic and chillies and boil hard for 5 minutes until the broth turns thick and white.
- Add the tofu. Turn to medium heat, slide in the tofu cubes and push gently to distribute; do not stir vigorously. Simmer for 3 minutes.
- Season and finish. Add the salt, white pepper and chicken powder and stir gently to dissolve. Scatter the green garlic, reduce on high heat for 30 seconds until the broth lightly coats the fish, and serve in a shallow clay pot or iron pan.
ADVERTISEMENT — PLACEHOLDER
Technique: boiling stock into a fried pan
The emulsion only forms if the liquid is boiling when it meets the fried fish: the violent bubbling breaks the fish's surface fats into tiny droplets suspended in the broth. Lukewarm or cold stock cools the pan, the fats stay in large drops, and the soup stays clear. Keep a kettle of stock at a rolling boil ready before the fish finishes frying, so there is no delay.
Variations
- No yellow catfish: use small whole sea bass or catfish steaks; fry and proceed identically (adaptation).
- Milder: omit the millet chillies for a purely fresh, milky fish-and-tofu stew (adaptation).
Frequently asked questions
Why is my broth not milky?
The stock was not boiling when added, or the fish was not fried golden first. Both are required for the emulsion.
Why did my tofu break?
It went in before the broth turned white, or it was stirred instead of pushed. Add it late and push gently.
Do I need to descale the fish?
No — yellow catfish is scaleless, which is part of its appeal; just clean the innards and gills.
Storage and freezing
Best eaten fresh. Leftovers keep 1 day refrigerated; reheat gently to a simmer without boiling hard, or the tofu breaks. Not recommended for freezing.
Yellow Catfish and Tofu Stew — Recipe Card
Pan-fried yellow catfish simmered with tofu in a milky spicy broth.
Prep: 10 minutesCook: 20 minutesTotal: 30 minutesServings: 2
Ingredients: 250 g yellow catfish; 200 g silken tofu; 400 ml boiling stock; 15 g ginger; 10 g garlic; 10 g millet chillies; 10 g green garlic; 30 ml oil; 3 g salt; 1 g white pepper; 2 g chicken powder (optional).
Steps: 1) Clean fish, cube tofu. 2) Fry fish golden ~2 minutes per side. 3) Add boiling stock, boil hard 5 minutes. 4) Add tofu, simmer 3 minutes, season and finish with green garlic.
ADVERTISEMENT — PLACEHOLDER
Related recipes
Mapo Tofu
Silky tofu in a tingly, spicy bean-paste sauce.
Oil-Blast Shrimp
Shrimp flash-fried in hot oil until the shells turn crisp and red, in a lightly sweet, savoury glaze.
Source note: ingredients, quantities and steps are adapted from the original ClouChef R&D report for 黄鸭叫煮豆腐 (data/reports/15.md). The report's pricing, margin and marketing sections are deliberately omitted here; no B2B cost is presented as a home-cook cost. The report's own cost tables are arithmetically wrong (a tofu line priced at 600 yuan, totals that disagree between sections), so no cost figures are reproduced. The fish and green-garlic substitutes are adaptations and are labelled as such. Original poster image: clouchef.com (黄鸭叫煮豆腐_15.jpeg).