桑溪客棧 Saum Creek Lodge

今人可選吃魚排，不必處理刺的問題，但如果想選用全魚，刺要如何解決呢？袁枚有好方法：1. 用快刀刮取魚片，用鉗抽其刺。2.用快刀將魚背斜切，使碎骨盡斷。他不主張把魚刺炸酥的方法，稱之為「駝背夾直，其人不活」，硬要把駝背的人弄直，反置人於死，就是矯枉過正。

黃魚(yellow croaker)是太平洋西岸(黃海地區)很容易買到的魚，維基百科以韓國黃花魚(Gulbi)為文化代表。袁枚的重點為此魚為濃厚之物，所以烹調時不能用「清」法，而要用「濃」法。

原文： 黃魚切小塊，醬酒郁一個時辰，瀝乾。入鍋爆炒兩面黃，加金華豆豉一茶杯，甜酒一碗，秋油一小杯，同滾。候鹵乾色紅，加糖，加瓜薑收起，有沉浸濃郁之妙。又一法，將黃魚拆碎，入雞湯作羹，微用甜醬水、芡粉收起之，亦佳。大抵黃魚亦係濃厚之物，不可以清治之也。

Method 1: Cut the yellow croakers into small chunks. Marinade the chunks with the mixture of soy sauce and wine for a day. Drip dry. Fry the pieces until both sides are golden brown, then add a small cup of Jinhua Douchi, a bowl of sweet wine, a small cup of autumn sauce [1] , and bring to a boil and simmer. When the sauce has reduced and turned red, add sugar, pickled cucumber and ginger, and continue to simmer until dry. This process will ensure the dish has a deep, rich flavor.

Method 2: Shred only the fish meat, and cook it with chicken broth while lightly season it with sweetened soy sauce, and add adequate amount of corn starch to make it into a thick soup.

Note: 簡言之，(1)法是紅燒，(2)法是做成魚羹。袁枚常提到「秋油」，那是古時在秋天時釀出的好醬油，今日已不可得，就選用您認為最好的醬油吧！