MARINADE

½ teaspoon peeled, minced fresh ginger root

1 tablespoon chopped scallions, white and light-green parts only

1 ¼ teaspoons kosher salt

¼ teaspoon ground white pepper

FISH

360g flounder fillet, cut into 2.5 inch equal pieces

BATTER

1 ½ teaspoons vegetable oil, plus more for frying

1 large egg, beaten

4 teaspoons water

Generous 1 tablespoon flour

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch

SAUCE BATCH 1

3 teaspoons chili oil

4 dried red chili peppers, cut into ¼-inch pieces, no seeds

⅓ cup slivered scallions, light- and dark-green parts only

SAUCE BATCH 2

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

1. teaspoon freshly ground Sichuan peppercorns

2. teaspoon ground cumin

SAUCE BATCH 3

⅓ bunch of cilantro leaves and tender stems, chopped

⅓ cup slivered scallions, light- and dark-green parts only

MARINADE

Stir together the cooking wine, ginger, scallions, salt and white pepper in a medium bowl. Add the fish and turn to coat, making sure the fish is covered by the marinade; marinate for 20 minutes at room temperature, or cover and marinate for up to 10 hours in the refrigerator.

BATTER

Stir together the egg, water, flour, cornstarch and the 1 ½ teaspoons of vegetable oil in a mixing bowl; the consistency should be that of a thin pancake batter. Discard the marinade, then toss and coat the fillets in the egg mixture.

FRYING STATION

Pour enough oil into a deep saucepan to fill about 3 inches; heat the oil to 400 degrees over medium to medium-high heat, monitoring the temperature closely. Place a wire cooling rack over a few layers of paper towels.

Carefully add half of the fish to the hot oil; fry for 2 minutes or until the pieces turn golden and firm on the outside. Use a skimmer to transfer the fish to the rack to drain. Repeat to fry the remaining fish, making sure the oil has returned to the proper temperature.

THE SAUCE

While the second batch of fish is cooking, start the sauce: Combine the chili oil, dried chili peppers and half of the scallion greens in a separate wok or saute pan. Place over medium heat. Stir-fry as the ingredients heat up; as soon as they become aromatic, turn off the heat.

As soon as all the fish is done, use tongs to transfer the pieces to the wok or pan with the sauce mixture. Immediately add the salt; stir-fry constantly as you add the ground Sichuan peppercorns and the cumin, giving the pan a few shakes to toss the ingredients as you work.

Increase the heat to high; add the cilantro and the remaining scallion greens. As soon as you smell the new addition of cilantro and scallions, remove the pan from the heat.

Divide between individual plates; serve right away.