Sweet Pepper, Pickled Mustard and Eel Stir-fry

Why people make this dish

Eel has a long history in Chinese food-therapy as a blood-nourishing food, but many home cooks avoid it because the fresh fish can be slippery and awkward to handle. The solution is straightforward: ask your fishmonger to fillet the eel for you when purchasing. Once you have the fillets, a quick blanch in boiling water firms up the flesh, removes the blood and sliminess, and then you are ready for a simple, fast stir-fry. This dish pairs the eel with sweet red pepper for colour and vitamin C, and pickled mustard greens (xian suan cai) for their appetite-stimulating tang and crunch. The result is a vivid, flavourful plate that works as a family meal any night of the week — and because eel is traditionally associated with nourishing blood and supporting the sinews, it is particularly valued for people who feel dizzy, fatigued, or depleted.

Method

1. Ask your fishmonger to fillet and debone the eel. At home, blanch the eel strips in boiling water until they firm up; remove, rinse off any blood and slime, and cut into thick strips.
2. Remove the seeds from the sweet pepper and cut into chunks. Soak, rinse, and cut the pickled mustard greens into chunks.
3. Heat oil in a wok over high heat. Add the minced ginger and garlic; stir-fry until fragrant.
4. Add the eel strips and stir-fry briefly; then add the sweet pepper and pickled mustard greens.
5. Add the spring onion sections, a splash of cooking wine, and seasoning to taste.
6. Stir-fry until the eel is fully cooked through. Plate and serve immediately.

Nourilo’s Tips

For a stir-fry like this, choose smaller, slender eels — the flesh is more tender and cooks quickly over high heat. Larger, thicker eels are better suited to slow-simmered soups or congee (where the longer cooking time extracts more of their nourishing quality). If you find yourself with eel bones after filleting, do not discard them: pan-fry them until golden, then simmer with black soybeans and red dates for a supplementary pork soup — it makes a nourishing broth that is good for spleen and kidney. Eel is also wonderful cooked in a rice cooker: marinate the fillets in light soy sauce, cooking wine, and a little cornstarch; when the rice is about 80% cooked, lay the eel on top with some ginger strips and spring onion, cover and steam for the final 10 minutes.