Squirrel fish

Method

1. 1 Cut off the head and remove the backbone, keeping the two sides of the meat attached to the tail.
2. 2 Make diamond-shaped incisions deep into the skin on the meat surface in two diagonal directions.
3. 3 The two-way incisions are so that when the meat comes into contact with hot oil, the chunks of meat spread out like a squirrel's tail.
4. 4 Sprinkle cornstarch into each notch and shake off any excess.
5. 5 Hold the fish by the tail and gradually dip it into 190-degree oil until the flesh spreads out, then let it sit for a full 6 minutes.
6. 6 Simmer vinegar with sugar, ketchup, and cornstarch to make a sauce, then sprinkle with roasted pine nuts and drizzle over the dish.

With an appliance

• Air fryer 58 min

  Replace step 5: thoroughly spray oil into each crevice of the floured fish, place skin-side down and air fry at 200 degrees for 15 minutes, rotating the tray at the 8th minute to make the fish pieces crispy; step 6 remains unchanged.