Chinese-Style Tempura with Freshly Caught Whiting (Su Zha Fen Yi)

Scraping the sardine scales off one by one is tedious, so wash them in salted water to remove fine dirt and scales. The flesh breaks easily and the heads come off readily, so wash gently with a stroking motion rather than agitating them.

Lifting the whole colander out at once would carry the loosened scales along with it, so pick the fish up one at a time. Change the water and repeat 2 to 3 times, until no more shiny scales appear.

For the whiting, the main ingredient, scrape the scales off thoroughly. They are soft and come off easily.

Since the whiting are small, butterfly them from the back so they're easy to eat. First run the knife along the back, then open the fish all the way to the belly. The flesh is delicate, so insert the knife gently.

Once opened, slide the knife under the belly bones and shave them off. The bones are soft and snap easily, so it's simple. Shave off the belly bones and innards with the knife and the prep is done.

Sprinkle a small amount of salt over the cleaned fish to season lightly.

Make the batter. Add a pinch of salt and the baking powder to 80 g of flour. The baking powder forces the batter to puff up in the heat for a crisp finish.

Add 1/2 egg and 110 cc of water and mix thoroughly. Unlike tempura, there's no need to leave it lumpy — mixing it completely smooth is fine. Finish by adding 1 tablespoon of oil. This oil escapes from the batter while frying and boosts the crispness.

Heat the frying oil to medium. At medium heat the oil doesn't splatter, which makes it easy to do at home.

Dust the whiting with flour, coat them generously in the batter, then lower them slowly into the oil.

If the oil is too hot, the batter spreads and bursts before the baking powder reacts; if too cool, it won't react and won't puff up — so keep the oil at medium heat. Lift the fish out once the batter takes on color. If the batter puffs up softly around the fish, you've succeeded.

Fry the remaining whiting the same way, one after another. Arrange the fried fish neatly and plate with a garnish of leafy greens. Serve with mixed spice or salt to taste.