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Zao-Liu Fish Slices (Wine-Lees Glazed Fish)
Carp slices velveted in egg white, slid for twenty seconds in warm oil, then glided through a fragrant fermented-rice-lees glaze — a Beijing banquet dish that must be handled, never stirred. Adapted for a home kitchen from the original ClouChef R&D report — 糟溜鱼片, report 89.
Original poster image from clouchef.com (poster: 糟溜鱼片_89.jpeg). This is the hero poster only, not a step-by-step photo set.
Prep: 15 minutesCook: 5 minutesTotal: 20 minutesServings: 2Difficulty: MediumRegion: BeijingFlavour: Wine-lees (zao) fragrance, lightly sweet
Why this works
Everything in this dish is about not breaking the fish. The slices are cut half a centimetre thick, velveted in egg white and starch, and slid at only 120–130 °C, where the oil barely bubbles — hot enough to set the coating, cool enough that the slices stay white and tender. Twenty to twenty-five seconds is the whole fry; longer and the fish hardens, shorter and it is raw inside, so the report demands a probe thermometer and a centre temperature of at least 75 °C. The glaze is built separately from fermented rice lees, sugar and water, and the fish is pushed into it gently while the cook shakes the pan — never a spatula, which would shred the slices. A fifteen-second high-heat reduction with water starch is all the sauce gets before it must come off the heat, glossy and clinging. Served at once, the dish should taste fragrant first, sweet second, and delicate throughout, with the glaze clinging rather than pooling on the plate.
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Ingredients
| Ingredient | US | Metric | Substitute / note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carp fillet, boned and skinned | 7 oz | 200 g | Cut into slices 0.5 cm thick, about 4 × 3 cm. Any firm white fish works (adaptation). |
| Egg white (velveting) | 1 egg white | 35 g | — |
| Corn starch (velveting) | 2 tsp | 10 g | — |
| Cooking wine (velveting) | 1 tsp | 5 ml | — |
| Salt (velveting) | Pinch | 1 g | — |
| Fermented rice lees (xiangzao) | 2 tbsp | 30 ml | Sold as wine lees at Chinese groceries; sake kasu thinned with a little rice wine is a substitute (adaptation). |
| Sugar | 1 tsp | 5 g | — |
| Water, for the lees glaze | About ⅓ cup | 100 ml | — |
| Salt (glaze) | Pinch | 2 g | — |
| MSG | Pinch | 1 g | Optional — omit if you prefer (adaptation). |
| Scallion segments | 0.35 oz | 10 g | — |
| Ginger slices | 0.2 oz | 5 g | — |
| Water starch 1:1 | 1 tbsp | 15 ml | Corn starch mixed with an equal amount of water. |
| Neutral oil, for sliding | 3½ tbsp | 50 ml | Includes the slide oil; most is drained off. |
| Scallion or goji berries, to garnish | Optional | Optional | Per the report. |
Equipment
- Wok or large skillet — no wok required (adaptation)
- Probe thermometer (the report requires one for the fish centre)
- Slotted spoon
Steps
- Slice and velvet the fish. Bone and skin the carp, take the clean flesh and cut into 0.5 cm slices, about 4 × 3 cm. Toss with egg white, corn starch, cooking wine and salt and marinate 10 minutes.
- Slide the fish. Heat the oil to 120–130 °C (the surface just barely bubbles). Slide the fish slices in one at a time, spread apart, and slide for 20–25 seconds until they turn white and set. Lift out at once and drain. Check the centre temperature with a probe: it must reach at least 75 °C / 167 °F — if not, slide briefly again or raise the oil temperature slightly.
- Make the lees glaze. In a clean pan, add the water, fermented rice lees, sugar, salt and MSG and stir until dissolved. Bring to a boil, add the scallion segments and ginger slices, simmer on low heat for 1 minute until fragrant, then lift out the scallion and ginger.
- Glide and reduce. Gently push the fish slices into the glaze and shake the pan to coat — do not use a spatula or turn the slices over. Pour in the water starch in stages, reduce on high heat for 15 seconds until the glaze thickens and wraps each slice, then remove from the heat at once and plate, garnished with scallion or goji berries if liked.
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Technique: shake the pan, never stir the fish
The spatula ban is the technique: at half a centimetre thick, velveted fish has almost no structure, and any lifting or folding breaks it into flakes. Shaking the pan moves the glaze around the slices instead, and pouring the starch in stages lets you stop at exactly the right thickness — too much and the dish turns pasty, too little and the glaze slides off. If the slices break anyway, they were almost certainly slid too long or at too high a temperature.
Variations
- Other white fish: use sea bass, cod or sole, same thickness and method (adaptation).
- No MSG: omit it; the lees and sugar carry the flavour (adaptation).
Frequently asked questions
What are wine lees?
The fermented residue of rice wine brewing, sold in jars as xiangzao — fragrant, lightly alcoholic and sweet-sour. It is the dish's whole flavour, so do not skip it.
Why did my fish fall apart?
Usually the slide oil was too hot, the slices were stirred with a spatula, or the reduction ran longer than fifteen seconds.
Can I use a non-stick pan?
Yes, and it helps: the velveted slices release more easily than from carbon steel (adaptation).
Storage and freezing
Best eaten fresh; the glaze soaks in and the fish firms on standing. Leftovers keep 1 day refrigerated; reheat very gently until steaming hot and expect a softer texture. Do not freeze.
Zao-Liu Fish Slices (Wine-Lees Glazed Fish) — Recipe Card
Velveted fish slices glided through a fragrant wine-lees glaze.
Prep: 15 minutesCook: 5 minutesTotal: 20 minutesServings: 2
Ingredients: 200 g carp fillet; velveting: 35 g egg white, 10 g corn starch, 5 ml cooking wine, 1 g salt; 30 ml rice lees; 5 g sugar; 100 ml water; 2 g salt; 1 g MSG (optional); 10 g scallion; 5 g ginger; 15 ml water starch; 50 ml oil.
Steps: 1) Slice fish 0.5 cm, velvet 10 minutes. 2) Slide in 120–130 °C oil 20–25 seconds, check 75 °C. 3) Boil lees glaze, simmer aromatics 1 minute, remove. 4) Glide fish in by shaking the pan, reduce with starch 15 seconds.
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Source note: ingredients, quantities and steps are adapted from the original ClouChef R&D report for 糟溜鱼片 (data/reports/89.md). The report's pricing, margin and marketing sections are deliberately omitted here; no B2B cost is presented as a home-cook cost. The fish and lees substitutes and the MSG-optional note are adaptations and are labelled as such. Original poster image: clouchef.com (糟溜鱼片_89.jpeg).