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1
Score the fish on both sides in a crosshatch pattern, cutting to the bone at intervals of approximately 2 cm. This allows heat to penetrate quickly and the sauce to enter the flesh. Pat the fish dry, then dust all surfaces, including the scored cuts, with cornstarch. The coating should be thin and even — no bare patches, no thick clumps.
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2
Heat the oil in a wok or wide pan over high heat until shimmering. Lay the fish in carefully. Pan-fry without moving until the underside is deep golden and releases cleanly from the pan. Turn and repeat on the second side. Remove the fish and set aside. The crust must be set and golden: this is what will hold the fish together through braising.
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3
Reduce the heat to medium. In the oil remaining in the pan, fry the scallion, ginger, and garlic until fragrant. Add the Shaoxing wine and let it sizzle briefly. Add the superior stock, Chinkiang vinegar, sugar, light soy sauce, and dark soy sauce. Stir to combine. The sauce should smell sharply vinegared and savoury, with a perceptible sweetness underneath.
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4
Return the fish to the pan. This is where the dish lives or dies: braise at a moderate, steady simmer — not a rolling boil, which breaks the fish, nor a mere warm bath, which leaves it underdone — for 8 to 10 minutes, basting the fish frequently with the sauce. At the thickest point behind the head, the flesh should flake cleanly when pressed gently with a finger or the back of a spoon.
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5
Lift the fish carefully onto a warmed serving platter. Increase the heat under the braising liquid and reduce until the sauce thickens and turns glossy. If it remains thin, stir in a small cornstarch slurry (1 tsp cornstarch dissolved in 2 tsp cold water) and cook briefly until the sauce coats a spoon in a deep, lacquered sheet.
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6
Pour the finished sauce over the fish immediately. Serve at once: the sauce should pool around the fish, glossy and deeply coloured, with the vinegar aroma distinct and bright on the nose.