Recipe - Braised Soy Fish With Red Dates

6 Chinese red dates
10 Dried black mushrooms
One half cup Bacon
One half cup Bamboo shoots
One fourth cup Water chestnuts
2 sl Fresh ginger root
1 Scallion stalk
1 Clove garlic
1 (23 pound) fish
1 teaspoon Salt
1 One half cup Water
1 tablespoon Soy sauce
2 tablespoon Sherry
1 teaspoon Sugar
1/8 teaspoon Pepper
3 dr Sesame oil; more or less
1 Head lettuce
Parsley

1. Separately soak Chinese red dates and dried mushrooms.

2. Shred bacon, bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, ginger root, soaked dates
and mushrooms. Mince scallion stalk; crush garlic.

3. Pick up steps 1, 2 and 4 of "Basic Braised Soy Fish" (see recipe), but
add salt and crushed garlic to heated oil before fish.

4. Arrange shredded ingredients and scallion on top of fish in pan. Add
water, soy sauce, sherry, sugar, pepper and sesame oil. Bring to a boil;
then simmer, covered, 20 minutes.

5. Shred lettuce and arrange on a serving platter. Place fish, with topping
intact, on lettuce bed. Garnish with Chinese parsley and serve. VARIATIONS:

1. In step 4, add with shredded ingredients One half teaspoon tangerine peel
(soaked), shredded. Omit the sesame oil.

2. When fish is done, transfer to a serving platter, as in step 5; then
thicken liquids in saucepan with a cornstarch paste and pour sauce over.

From The Thousand Recipe Chinese Cookbook, ISBN 0517658704. Downloaded
from Glen's MM Recipe Archive, http://www.erols.com/hosey.