Squirrel-shaped Mandarin Fish (Songshu Guiyu)
A classic Suzhou dish featuring deep-fried mandarin fish in sweet and sour sauce, shaped like a squirrel with crispy texture and tangy flavor.
Ingredients
13 items- Mandarin fish 1 whole (approx. 600g)
- Pine nuts 30g
- Shaoxing cooking wine 2 tbsp
- Salt 1 tsp
- Ginger 3 slices
- Egg 1
- Cornstarch 100g
- Ketchup 3 tbsp
- White vinegar 2 tbsp
- Sugar 3 tbsp
- Light soy sauce 1 tbsp
- Water starch 2 tbsp
- Vegetable oil as needed (about 800ml)
Nutrition
Steps （8 steps）
Remove the head. Fillet fish from the back to the tail, remove bones, keep belly attached. Rinse and pat dry.
Score the flesh diagonally with 1cm spacing, cutting deep but not through skin. Then make straight cuts to create diamond-shaped pieces.
Rub fish evenly with cooking wine, salt, and ginger. Marinate for 10 minutes.
Mix egg white with cornstarch to make a thin paste. Spread over fish, then coat with dry cornstarch, separating the pieces.
Heat oil to 180°C. Hold tail and fry fish body until set (30 sec), then fry whole fish for 3 minutes until light golden. Drain.
Raise oil temperature to 200°C. Fry fish again for 1 minute until golden and crispy. Fry head as well.
In a clean pan, sauté minced garlic. Add ketchup, vinegar, sugar, soy sauce, and water. Bring to boil, thicken with water starch, drizzle with hot oil.
Place fish on plate, attach head. Pour hot sauce immediately over fish, sprinkle with pine nuts. Serve at once.
Tips
Precise knife work is key; make uniform cuts. Fry the fish tail-up first to set shape. Add hot oil to the sauce after thickening to make it glossy.
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