Fried Tilapia with Ginger Scallion Soy Sauce

It's been quite a good minute since I've made a decent update hasn't it? I'm sorry I have not posted much in the past few months. Please bare with me! I'll admit, most of it definitely is due to some laziness, but in the more recent months - work has become overwhelming. By the time I come home, I just want to quickly have dinner prepared. Documenting takes time and these days, there's very little time (or I'm just not using time wisely).

Well, this dish - was inspired by one of my favorite dishes from Golden Harvest, Braised Tilapia - a whole deep fried Tilapia, braised in a flavorful sauce.

One of dad's most treasured moments are family dinners, so I'm beginning to try out new recipes and make the usual dishes more exciting. With everyone on different schedules and not being able to sit down altogether how we used to, I'm beginning to treasure them too!

Well, lets get to the recipe shall we?? :D



Prep: one shallot thinly sliced, 3 cloves of crushed garlic, 1/2 tbsp. of palm sugar (you can used brown or regular sugar), 1 knob of ginger - cut into matchstick size, Scallions cut into 1.5 in. pieces.


The fish: Scaled, gutted, cleaned, scored on both sides, and patted dry with paper towels.


Give the entire fish a dusting of flour (seasoned with some salt). I found it easiest to do this by laying out a piece of aluminum foil that I could toss away after I've shaken off all the excess flour.


For the sauce, start by browning the shallots and garlic in a little bit of oil on medium heat.


Take the sauce pan off the heat and add in chili flakes.


Add the palm sugar, return the pan back to the stove and on low heat, melt the sugar.


Deglazed with 1/4 cup of soy sauce. Add the ginger and let the sauce reduces for a minute or two.


I recommend using this soy sauce. It's light and flavorful.


Mix 1 tbsp of cornstarch or tapioca starch (or flour) with 1/2 cup of water. Add to sauce. Turn heat up to medium high.


After 4 minutes the sauce will have a smooth thick consistency. Taste and adjust to your liking. Add scallions and chopped chillies.


While making the sauce, you can begin frying the fish. I fill a shallow fry pan with enough oil to cover half the fish. When the oil is hot enough, fry the fish on medium-high heat. Give the fish about 3-5 minutes on each side or until golden brown. When cooked, remove onto a shallow plate (to hold sauce) lined with paper towels.


Remove the paper towels and pour sauce over. Garnish with cilantro, fried shallots and more chopped chili peppers. Serve with steamed white rice.