Shanghai Sea Bass

Ingredients
    1 whole sea bass, scaled and cleaned, head and tail intact
    3 tbsp cornflour
    1 tbsp Chinese yellow beans
    1 tbsp chilli paste or crushed red chillies
    500 ml oil, for frying, plus a little extra
    1 cloves garlic, finely chopped
    2 cm piece ginger, cut into thin matchsticks
    1 small red pepper, cut into strips
    2 spring onions, cut into 2.5cm lengths
    1 tsp caster sugar
    Chinese rice vinegar, to taste
    4 tbsp fish stock
    1 large tomato, cut into chunks
    dashes of Chinese wine
    jasmine rice, to serve

To garnish
    coriander leaves
    chillies, sliced
    1 spring onion, sliced diagonally

Method
Make several slashes diagonally across each side of the fish.

Mix the cornflour with a little salt and freshly ground black pepper and sprinkle on the fish.

In a large, heavy-based frying pan or wok, heat the oil over a high heat. Add the fish and shallow-fry it at a high heat on both sides for 5 minutes until golden brown. Remove from the heat onto a large plate.

In a small bowl crush the yellow beans, add the chilli paste and mix until combined.

Heat a little extra oil in a saucepan. Add the garlic, ginger, red pepper and spring onions and cook for 1 minute or until slightly softened.

Push the vegetables to one side of the pan. Add the yellow bean and chilli paste, sugar, a dash of vinegar and the stock and stir until combined.

Lastly, add the tomato and a dash of Chinese wine.

Pour the sauce over the fish and garnish with coriander leaves and fresh sliced chilli.

Serve with plain jasmine rice.