← Nouns Cooking · Thai

Ingredients

• 700 g whole sea bass, snapper or tilapia, cleaned and scaled
• 1 tsp Salt
• 3 tbsp cornflour or rice flour
• 750 ml neutral oil, for deep frying
• 6 cloves Garlic
• 4 long red chillies, roughly chopped
• 4 Bird's eye chilli, roughly chopped
• 1 Shallot, roughly chopped
• 3 tbsp palm sugar or brown sugar
• 2 tbsp tamarind purée
• 2 tbsp Fish sauce
• 4 tbsp Water
• 1 handful Thai basil leaves (optional)
• 300 g jasmine rice, to serve (optional)

Method

1. Pat the fish very dry inside and out. Cut 3 deep diagonal slashes on each side down to the bone, rub with the salt and dust all over with the cornflour.
2. Heat the oil in a wok to 180°C (350°F). Slide the fish in tail first, away from you, and fry for 6–8 min per side, until deep golden and crisp and the flesh by the bone is opaque. Lift onto a rack to drain. Fry the basil leaves for a few seconds until glassy, if using.
3. Pound the garlic, chillies and shallot into a rough paste; it should stay a little chunky.
4. Pour off all but 1 tbsp of oil from the wok (or use a small pan). Fry the paste over medium heat for 1 minute until fragrant, then add the palm sugar, tamarind, fish sauce and water.
5. Simmer for 2–3 minutes, stirring, until the sauce turns thick and syrupy. Taste: it should be sweet, sour and hot in equal measure.
6. Set the fish on a platter, pour over the sauce, scatter with the crispy basil and serve at once with rice.

Tips

• Use a large wok and lower the fish in gently; if your wok is small, fry two smaller fish or thick fillets for 3–4 minutes per side.
• For extra crunch, keep the fried fish in a 180°C (350°F) oven while you make the sauce.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

ImportFood Temple of Thai