You can use lime juice in this dish if you prefer a clear sauce, or tamarind for a thick or darker-colored sauce. Use two or four smaller fish if you can’t find one fish large enough. Garnish with holy basil if you can find it.
Ingredients: (Serves 2)
- 1 x 350 g/12 oz sea bream, red snapper or grey mullet
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose (plain) flour
- Pinch of ground black pepper
- Vegetable oil, for deep-frying
For the paste:
- 4-5 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
- 5 long red chilies, seeded and roughly chopped
- 4-5 Asian shallots, roughly chopped
- 3 cilantro (coriander) roots, finely chopped
- 3 tablespoons palm sugar (jaggery), or soft brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 3 tablespoons tamarind purée or lime juice
- A few holy basil or Thai sweet basil leaves, for garnish
Method:
Clean and gut the fish, leaving the head on. Dry the fish thoroughly. Score it three or four times on both sides with a sharp knife. Rub inside and out with a pinch of salt. Put the flour and ground pepper on a plate or dish and press the fish lightly into it until coated with flour from head to tail. Shake off any excess.
Heat 10 cm/4 inches oil in a large wok or pan big enough to deep-fry the whole fish. When the oil seems hot, drop a piece of shallot into the oil. If it sizzles straight away, the oil is ready. Lower the heat to medium and gently slide the fish into the oil. Be careful as the hot oil may splash. Deep-fry the fish on just one side (but make sure the oil covers the whole fish) for about 15-20 minutes or until the fish is cooked and light brown (if you cook the fish until it is brown, it will be too dry). Drain, then put on paper towels before transferring to a warm plate. Keep warm.
While the fish is cooking, use a pestle and mortar or a small blender to pound or blend the garlic, chilies, shallots and cilantro roots together into a rough paste.
Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a wok or frying pan and stir-fry the chili paste over a medium heat for 2-3 minutes or until fragrant. Add the palm sugar, fish sauce and tamarind purée or lime juice, and cook for 2-3 minutes or until the sugar has dissolved. Pour the warm chilli sauce over the fish and garnish with basil leaves. Serve immediately while still hot.