Chongqing Grilled Fish
“Spicy grilled fish enveloped in a rich, aromatic chili and Sichuan pepper sauce.”
The bite
A whole fish — grass carp or catfish — split flat, grilled over charcoal until the skin is blistered, then dropped into a wide iron tray of bubbling chili oil with celery, onion, lotus root, soy sprouts, mushroom underneath. The tray sits on a tabletop burner and keeps cooking. Eat with rice; the vegetables soak up oil and become the sleeper hit. Numbing peppercorn comes through after the chili.
Where it comes from
A late-1990s Chongqing dish from the Wanzhou district on the upper Yangtze — fishermen at the river docks had access to fresh river fish and a tradition of grilling it over charcoal; restaurant operators added the iron-tray chili-oil step in the mid-90s, and the format spread from Chongqing across China by the early 2000s.
What makes it work
Two cooking events on one fish. Grill first — direct charcoal, skin-down — to set the protein and pick up smoke. Then the chili oil step is essentially a hot oil bath that keeps cooking the fish at the table; the bottom vegetables are not garnish, they're a heat buffer that keeps the fish from sticking and burning on the tray. Without that vegetable layer the dish scorches in five minutes flat.
On the Palate
What goes into it
Proteins
Vegetables
Herbs & Spices
Other
How it's made
- 1
Clean and butterfly the fish, then marinate with ginger, garlic, and soy sauce.
- 2
Grill the fish over high heat until skin is crispy and flesh is tender.
- 3
Prepare a sauce with doubanjiang, Sichuan pepper, and chili peppers, cooking until aromatic.
- 4
Pour the sauce over the grilled fish, adding bean sprouts and tofu to the dish.
- 5
Simmer briefly to allow flavors to meld before serving.
