Sole

Wing Lau and I regularly get together for lunch to try new restaurants and new dishes. Wing has introduced me to a number of wonderful Chinese dishes. Recently he called Lotus Garden in San Bernardino and specially ordered a dish he has had at other Chinese restaurants on the coast. I don't know the specific name of the dish or preparation, because he and the waiter communicate in Chinese, but the dish involves a sole, a large flatfish, also known as the Dover sole. It is a dish that is not on the Lotus Garden menu. As I understand it, the majority of the sole filet or meat is removed from the carcass and the remaining carcass, consisting mostly of bone is breaded and I assume deep fried, to something akin to tempura. See below.

The preparation somehow tenderizes the bones and makes them edible. A special sauce consisting of scallions, soy sauce and something similar to tempura dipping sauce is on the side and can be added to the sole carcass.

It was surprisingly good. All but the biggest bones were chewed up and eaten.

The main sole filet was prepared into a separate dish with mushrooms, carrots, peas and a mild sauce. The sole filet was very tender and moist.

It was delicious. The only reservation was how mild the sole filet dish was. So Wing ordered it again a month or so later, this time having them prepare the sole filet dish using a spicy bean sauce. It was spicier and very good, although I enjoyed this milder version just as much. I didn't take any pictures the second time around. As usual, they were wonderful lunches with Wing and a culinary adventure!