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.
I'm glad to see you finally updated! Tee hee. (:
ReplyDeleteI can't wait for another family reunion! Let's plan to cook more than eat out. Lol. Although, I do want to go eat sushi at that tokyo place again!
This post is for you Mailmail! And yes - Less eating out and more home cooked meals =) haha I got another sushi place for you to try though.
Delete00oo I like the reply button...how long has it been there?? hahah
i didn't even know about it until now! haha.
Deletethe fish looks so yummy. i know what you mean about laziness & work overload. When we are so busy, it's so hard to eat/cook properly. I haven't had a decent homemade dinner for such a long time. That's why I always look forward to the holidays :)
ReplyDeleteTry to muster up a little energy to cook something...something with protein and veggies. A simple stir-fry is always good. Home for the holidays...I love family gatherings and dinners =) Hope all is well with work Nick!
DeleteSome of your viet music on your page is weird lele :P No one ever cooks like this when we go home to visit! :( DISLIKE! You know what?? We should have everyone pick a night to cook dinner, while we are there for anh cuong's wedding this summer.-your sis
ReplyDeleteI like my music selections! We do cook like this, I like that idea - you should make your bun bo hue, jeebo likes it. Dad will probably boil something like chicken or pork belly heheh
Deletewell, you're right we kinda don't cook like this...because I'm trying some new stuff, trying to jazz the usual dishes up a wee bit. =) Dad approves this one 10/10 whoowoo!
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