Cookbook Corner . . . Discovering Chinese Methods of Preparing Seafood

Chinese Seafood by Huang Su-Huei (Wei-Chuan’s Cooking: $8.95, 101 pages, illustrated)

The resourceful Chinese waste nothing. Thus, one finds four recipes employing fish heads in “Chinese Seafood,” the latest in a series of books by Taiwanese cooking teacher Huang Su-Huei.

The fish heads, considered a delicacy in some parts of the world, are steamed with black bean sauce, cooked in soy sauce, stewed with napa cabbage and simmered with bean curd, meat and mushrooms for a casserole that is prepared in a wok, not the customary baking dish.

Those with less adventurous tastes can try fish fillets in lemon sauce, sweet-and-sour fish fillets, baked prawns, fried shrimp, stir-fried scallops and many other recipes that would be acceptable to most palates.

Abundant color photographs of the completed dishes guide the cook not familiar with how they should look. Occasionally, a preparation step is illustrated. And introductory step-by-step photographs show how fish, clams, crab, shrimp and squid are readied for cooking.

Recipe categories cover fish, shrimp, lobster, crab, squid, clams, oysters, scallops, abalone, soups and miscellaneous dishes such as fish rolls, fried fish cakes and seafood salad.

Monterey Park Resident

Now a resident of Monterey Park, Huang Su-Huei headed the Wei-Chuan Department of home economics and taught cooking in Taipei for many years. (Wei-Chuan Foods Corp. is a large packer and shipper of Chinese ingredients in Taiwan.) She was assisted in the preparation of this book by Lee Mu-Tsun, who also taught for Wei-Chuan in Taipei.

To celebrate Chinese New Year, which starts on Wednesday, try the following recipe for a fried whole fish prepared Taiwanese style with a topping of soy sauce, ginger and other typical Chinese seasonings.

TAIWANESE-STYLE FISH

WITH VINEGAR SAUCE

1 (1 1/3-pound) whole fish

1 tablespoon wine

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon vinegar

1 1/2 teaspoons sesame oil

1 1/2 teaspoons sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons chopped ginger root

1 1/2 teaspoons chopped garlic

2 tablespoons chopped green onion

1 small hot chile, sliced

Oil for deep-frying

Clean fish, then make shallow cuts on surface. Marinate fish with wine and salt 20 minutes. Combine soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, sugar, ginger, garlic, green onion and chile. Set aside. Pat fish dry.

Heat wok. Add oil for deep-frying and heat. Deep-fry fish 6 minutes or until golden brown. Drain and place on plate. Pour soy sauce mixture over fish while hot. Makes 4 servings as part of Chinese meal.