Szechuan Trout

Rinse trout with cold water inside and out and pat dry. Cut diagonal slices on both sides of the fish.

Crush Szechuan pepper in a mortar with a pestle or with the back of a heavy knife. Place the trout in a bowl or baking dish, sprinkle with 4 tablespoons of soy sauce inside and out.  Season inside of fish with the crushed pepper. Let stand to marinate for 10-15 minutes.

Meanwhile, trim and rinse scallions. Dice finely.

Rinse tomatoes and cut into sixths, remove the stems and scoop out the seeds.

Peel and finely grate ginger root. Peel the garlic and mince using a garlic press. Halve chile pepper, remove the seeds, rinse thoroughly and chop finely.

Heat oil in a large non-stick skillet. Lightly coat trout with cornstarch, place in a pan over medium heat and fry 6-7 minutes on each side. Place on a baking sheet and place in preheated oven at 100°C (fan: 80°C, gas mark 1)(approximately 210°F/convection 175°F) to keep warm.

Remove residual oil from skillet, then pour in the sesame oil. Add scallions, ginger and garlic and fry briefly.

Combine chile pepper, tomatoes and sugar.

Add wine and the remaining soy sauce to chile pepper, garlic and tomato mixture. Bring to a boil over high heat for about 2 minutes.