How to make Thai crunchy fish, a dinner party favourite coated with a sticky tamarind sauce
- For this recipe use white sea bass or another firm, mild-tasting fish. Slice and dust with Thai tempura flour, then slow-fry in a wok to remove the moisture
- Meanwhile, fry cashews, then sliced shallots. Remove. Mix tamarind pace with fish sauce and water, fry, then add chillies and shallots and coat fish. Serve.
For this, my last recipe column for the South China Morning Post, I’m giving you a dish that so many people have asked for: crunchy fish.
Thai crunchy fish
Tass likes to use white sea bass (which is in the croaker family), but says you can choose another firm, mild-tasting fish. Don’t use an oily variety, such as mackerel or salmon.
The thinly sliced fish is fried at a relatively low temperature for quite a long time – about 10-15 minutes – until most of the moisture is gone, making the pieces firm and crunchy. It’s then coated in a sticky, tamarind-based sauce.
Gogi (or Kogi) powder is Thai tempura flour that makes for a good crunchy coating for seafood and meat. If you can’t find it (although it’s worth seeking out), use plain (all-purpose) flour.
Ingredients
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650 grams (23 oz) skin-on fish fillets
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15ml (1 tbsp) soy sauce, preferably Thai soy sauce
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1 tsp finely ground white pepper
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6 large shallots, peeled
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5-7 red bird’s-eye chillies
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3-4 spring onions
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20ml (scant ¾ oz) tamarind paste (without seeds)
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15ml (1 tbsp) fish sauce
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15 grams (1 tbsp) granulated sugar
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75 grams (2⅔ oz) cashews
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Gogi/Kogi powder, as necessary
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Cooking oil, as necessary
1 Thinly slice the fish fillets – the pieces should be no thicker than 5mm (¼ in). Put the pieces on a plate then add the soy sauce and white pepper and mix well.
2 Halve the shallots, then thinly slice them. Slice the chillies into thin rounds, and mince the spring onions.
3 Mix the tamarind paste with 20ml (1 tbsp and 1 tsp) of hot water and stir well. Mix in the fish sauce and sugar.
4 Pour oil to the depth of about 5cm (2 in) into a wok and heat to 160 degrees Celsius (320 degrees Fahrenheit) over a medium flame. Add the cashews and fry for about a minute, or until pale golden. Use a flat mesh sieve to lift the cashews out of the oil, then drain them on paper towels.
5 Add the shallot to the oil and fry it for about three to four minutes, or until golden to medium brown, stirring often. Turn off the flame then lift the shallot out of the oil using the flat mesh sieve. Place it over a bowl to drain for a few minutes, then transfer to a bowl.
6 Sprinkle about 60 grams (½ cup) of Gogi/Kogi powder over the fish slices and mix so they are lightly but evenly coated. Shake off the excess powder.
7 Reheat the oil to 160 degrees Celsius (320 degrees Fahrenheit). Add all the fish to the oil. At first, it will seem like too much fish – it won’t be submerged in the oil. Leave undisturbed for about 30 seconds, then use a wok spatula to carefully scoop under the pile of fish and gently lift and turn it. Do not stir-fry vigorously, or the fish might fall apart.
8 Again, leave the fish undisturbed for about 30 seconds before lifting and turning it. Repeat the process of lifting and turning the fish, then leaving it undisturbed, several more times.
9 As the fish loses moisture, it will shrink, and towards the end of the frying process, will be mostly submerged in the oil. The fish takes about 13 minutes to fry. Lift and stir the fish more frequently starting at the halfway point, and towards the end, stir it almost constantly. Don’t rush the process, and adjust the flame as necessary so it doesn’t fry too quickly. When it’s ready, the fish will be deep golden, and when you snap a piece in half, it will be cooked all the way through. Drain the fish in a metal sieve.
10 Pour off almost all the oil. Place the wok (no need to wash it) over a low-medium flame. Add the tamarind mixture and stir almost constantly, simmering it until it is a light syrup consistency.
11 Add the chillies and stir constantly for about 15 seconds, then add the fried shallot. Turn off the flame and stir until the shallot is lightly coated, then mix in half the spring onion.
12 Add the fish and cashews into the wok and mix well so the ingredients are evenly distributed. Transfer to a serving platter and scatter with the remaining spring onion. Serve immediately.
Food styling: Nellie Ming Lee. Kitchen: courtesy of Junk Kitchen
