Fish in Tamarind Sauce

Fish in Tamarind Sauce

in Fish & Seafood, Main, Recipe, Stir Fried

Tamarind paste should be one of the regular condiments in your pantry. This recipe works well not only for fish but also prawns. Follow the recipe or enrol for a Private Thai Cooking Class, Kamala, Phuket, and impress your guest with something different to your usual sweet & sour.

Ingredients

Sauce

  • 200g tamarind juice
  • 100g palm sugar
  • 70g fish sauce

For Cooking

  • 500 g Fish (of your choice)
  • pinch of salt, pepper, and turmeric powder
  • Oil for frying
  • 10 garlic cloves, slice thinly
  • 5 shallots, slice thinly
  • 10 dried chillies (bird’s eye chillies or small hot ones)
  • A handful of coriander leave, to serve

Directions

  1. Combine all ingredients together in a saucepan. Stir to help sugar dissolves. But it will be completely dissolved when you cook it.
  2. Place the saucepan on medium heat. Bring to a boil while stir often. Let boil for about 5 minutes and keep stirring while boiling, to help prevent it from spilling. Reduce the heat to simmer it for about 5 – 10 minutes until the sauce is slight thicker and caramelised.
  3. Turn off the heat. Use it or let cool and keep in a clean jar in the fridge for future use. It should keep for about couple weeks.
  4. Use your favourite fish or catch of the day. Fillets work well. Lightly sprinkle the fish with salt, pepper, and turmeric powder.
  5. Whole fish works, too. If you use whole fish make sure you prep it well and that you have large enough frying pan and oil to fry the fish to crisp.
  6. If you use tender meat fish you might want to coat it lightly with the salt, pepper, and turmeric powder, AND flour, to add some crust.
  7. Place a wok or a frying pan with enough oil to fry your fish (later), on medium heat. When oil is hot, fry garlic until golden. Use a slotted spoon or “spider” sieve to take the garlic out of the oil and onto paper towel to absorb the excess oil. Then fry shallots. And fry the chillies, which will take about 5-10 seconds to get crispy and turn slightly dark. DO NOT take your eyes of them. Use this oil to fry the fish.
  8. Fry fish in hot oil until golden. Place on paper towel to get rid of excess oil.
  9. Spoon the tamarind sauce on a plate. Arrange the fried fish on the sauce and sprinkle crispy garlic, shallots, and fresh coriander leaves to serve.