The quintessential Cantonese condiment - Fried Dace with Black Bean

Fried Dace with Black Bean! You've probably seen this at your local Chinese supermarket, but if you didn't know what it was, I'd imagine you probably walked right past it. Next time? Buy this, trust us. I know 'tinned fish' isn't necessarily the most enticing thing in the world for many, but even if you bounce off it as a condiment, it's an absolutely fantastic ingredient.

Recipe is also over here in /r/CasualChina if you prefer your recipes in Reddit form:

WAY TO EAT #1: AS A TOPPING/SIDE FOR WHITE RICE

A classic 'rice killer'. Take a chunk of the fish & black bean, toss it over rice. We also like to sprinkle on a bit of granulated sugar and a touch of the oil from the can.

WAY TO EAT #2: AS A BASE FOR FRIED RICE

* Steamed rice, 250g. This would be from 150g of dried rice. Leftover rice is also ok, you'll just need to break up the clumps and fry for longer than steamed rice.
* Fish from the can, 1 fish.
* Black bean from the can, 1 tbsp.
* Garlic, 2 cloves.
* Seasoning: 1/4 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp sugar, 1 tsp light soy sauce (生抽)

Process:

1. Steam your rice as per the above video -or- use leftover rice.

2. Finely mince the fish and the garlic. Roughly chop the black beans.

3. Longyau - get your wok piping hot, shut off the heat, add in the oil - here ~1 tbsp - and give in a swirl to get a non-stick surface.

4. Low flame. Add in the garlic, fish, and black beans. Fry until aromatic, ~1 minute.

5. Swap the flame to high. Add in the rice. Break it up a bit, stir fry together until the rice is loose and the grains are separate, or about two minutes.

6. Season with the 1/4 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp sugar, and swirl the 1 tsp soy sauce over the spatula and around the sides of the wok. Fry for ~30 seconds to mix.

WAY TO EAT #3: AS A BASE FOR FRIED VEGETABLE

If you can't find Youmaicai/Taiwanese Lettuce, we think Bok Choy would be another good choice here. And while we've never tried it ourselves, Swiss Chard seems like it'd be another logical choice for this flavor profile.

* Youmaicai a.k.a. Taiwanese lettuce (油麦菜/A菜) -or- your veg of choice, 300g. This 'Taiwanese lettuce' may also be seen labelled as A-Choy or Sword Lettuce.
* Fish from the can, 1/2 fish
* Black beans from the can, 1 tbsp
* Oil from the can, 1 tbsp
* Aromatics: 2 cloves garlic, ~1 inch ginger
* Seasoning: 1/4 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp sugar, 1 tsp light soy sauce (生抽)
* Liaojiu a.k.a. Shaoxing wine (料酒/绍酒), ~1 tbsp. For use while stir frying.

Process:

If you're using blanched bok choy, just add it during step #5 after frying the aromatics and continue with the recipe.

1. Roughly chop the fish and the black beans. Slice the ginger and garlic.

2. Wash the lettuce, rip it in half into the stems and leaves.

3. Longyau - get your wok piping hot, shut off the heat, add in the oil - here ~1 tbsp - and give in a swirl to get a non-stick surface.

4. High flame. Add the aromatics, quick fry, ~15 seconds. Add in the stems. Fry for ~2 minutes, or until the stems obviously wilt a bit.

5. Add the leaves. Fry for ~30 seconds. Scooch it all up the side of the wok.

6. Add the fish and beans, fry a touch in the oil. Swirl in the wine. Quick mix.

7. Season with the 1/4 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp sugar, and swirl in that 1 tsp soy sauce over your spatula and around the side of the wok. Quick mix, toss in the oil from the fish can. Another quick mix.

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Outro Music: คิดถึงคุณจัง by ธานินทร์ อินทรเทพ

[ChineseCookingDemystified]

Hey guys, a few notes:

1. So the fish that’s used here actually isn’t ‘dace’ – AFAIK, that’s simply a common mistranslation. From our understanding, in English lingyu is ‘mud carp’. We went with the translation of dace in this video because “Fried Dace with Black Bean” is the standard translation for this specific product.


3. Obviously, for the fried rice, you can use leftover day-old rice in place of steamed rice if you like. Just fry it until it gets until loose, separate grains – 3-5 minutes. Also note that if you own a Zojirushi rice cooker, you’ll need to set it to the ‘quick’ function to get it to behave like a normal rice cooker (normal leftover Zoji rice is actually *too* nice for fried rice).

4. For the fried veg, the reason Steph fried the fish/black beans after the vegetable is that the veg needs to be fried over a high flame, else it can become a bit liquid-y. Frying the fish/beans after the vegetable prevents them from scorching over that high flame and becoming bitter.

5. Our personal preferred way to eat this over white rice is together with a sprinkle of sugar & some of the oil from the can.


7. Quick question for those of you in North America and Europe that know Chinese – can you buy ‘instant douchi’ (i.e. 即食阳江豆豉)? We’d like to feature that in an upcoming part 2 of over rice/rice killer dishes, and while we believe it *should* be available outside of China, it’d be awesome to know for sure.

Happy CNY everyone! We’ll actually be releasing a video the first day of the New Year (Lap Cheong, which we’re filming today), taking a week off, then coming back with another recipe video the week after. We’ll also be sprinkling in a couple Q&A videos over the next month as well (one with me & Steph, one with Steph & Dawei).

[MMX]

Thank you for making this video. A mix of nostalgia and sadness hit me hard since this was the number one item that my dad used to buy when going to the Asian supermarket. He passed away 6 years now and upon seeing this video, a lot of memories flooded right in. Hearing about the origin of this product was so fascinating. My dad was also Cantonese and moved to Belgium during his thirties. Learning how this food was also eaten by Cantonese immigrants during a different time period, hit me right in the feels as I imagined it served the same purpose for my dad. Thank you again for such a lovely video!

[justathad]

I haven't eaten this in years. Just seeing the picture of the can made me feel very nostalgic and my mouth water.

[GoldsteinsBook]

Pretty cool seeing Steph take the reins on this one.

[carolegeddes]

The pictures are fascinating and the culinary history lesson is very interesting. Thank you very much for a very enjoyable program.

[randommusings]

We grew up eating this when we emigrated to Australia from Malaysia in 1992. There wasn't many Chinese shops when we first arrived and it was always a special meal when we had this on the dinner table! Thank you for bringing back some amazing childhood memories with this video. Great job!

[JeffroB]

I became friends with the owner of the little Chinese grocery up the street years ago and she turned me on to this (and I learned about many other foods and recipes. She mentioned it when I was buying bitter melon, it it was GREAT with it!

[Dudes]

This was my shit back then in the hood. This with steamed white rice. Flavor bomb!

[XimenaZhao]

This was my go-to afterschool food as a latchkey kid in San Francisco, California, USA. Steamed white rice from the rice cooker with canned dace. I like to add chopped green onion for a little crunchy freshness.

[alexobery]

So many Chinese ingredients that i haven’t known i’d love until this channel, thankyou both....

[wakingcharade]

the woman who works at my local asian market always looks so impressed with me when I pick these up, since I'm obviously not chinese. I usually just eat it with rice, i hadn't thought about frying it with veggies!

[davidtaylor]

Discovered this stuff when I lived in London 30 years ago and became instantly addicted. Then I moved to Devon where there were no Chinese supermarkets. Now my daughter is grown up and living in London and she can supply me!

[sonnydin]

I love eating this canned fish, since childhood, and still do as an old man. Chinese cuisine is among the best in the world. We throw in Chinese pak choi here into the wok. Finally, eating finished product with rice. yummy. Even pet dog shown wants some. Thanks for sharing video.

[kockgunner]

I just love how well-written and efficiently spoken this video was. I learned so much about history and cooking in just 5 minutes. I grew up with just eating the fish out of the can (lol), but now I will have to try both recipes!

[williammak]

Yes. Indeed it is. I am a Cantonese so do I knew it well. And I have addicted to this Fried Dace With Black Bean. The varieties of Cantonese foods make your life colourful.

[kennethgray]

As a Lo Fan, I was introduced to Dace with Fermented Black Beans about 25 years ago. Simply with white rice, one of the most delicious combos ever! What I have noticed is you have to be careful on the quality. There are some cheap imitation brands out there that are similar in taste and texture to cat food. The real thing, undeniably excellent.

[corncob]

I was introduced to htis by a Cantonese friend many many years ago, and I am still enjoying it. I have never done anything with it but heat it and eat it with rice. I will have to try some of the variations you suggest here. Thanks!

[Keyblade]

Thank you for including the history of the food you talk about, it is one of my favorite things to hear how the food we eat got to where it is today.

[godzillamothra]

I love this canned fish so much, so delish. Back then, when I was in college, it was pretty cheap and my to go when I want something delicious, healthy, and cheap. Now it is so expensive. In my city, it cost me around 5 bucks a can, which is crazy.

[Thestandby]

Wow, I haven't eaten this in years. So nostalgic and tasty.