Fried Snapper with Sweet Spicy Tamarind Sauce

by Tataya Kudo - February 04, 2013

Nicely crisp fried fish with sweet spicy tamarind sauce is always highlight of any meal in our house. When it is served on the dining table, it is first one to go-- always.

I love all kind of fish but prefer smaller and tiny one, deep fried to golden goodness that I can enjoy the whole fish with bone. If you have tried it, you know how great it is.

Recently, I found a bucket of Japanese Snapper on sale. Each of them weighed about 350-450 grams. Oh-- I love Japanese Snapper. Without any hesitation, I bought one of them and made fried fish with sweet spicy tamarind sauce-- one of the simplest recipes for fried fish but really delicious especially when you drench the tamarind sauce over steamed rice.

If you can't find Japanese Snapper where you are, feel free to use local fish of your choice. Below is my Fried Snapper with Sweet Spicy Tamarind Sauce recipe.

Ingredients

Yields 2 servings 40 minutes
350 grams whole Japanese snapper
1 tablespoons chopped Thai garlic
4 red chili peppers, chopped
2 tablespoon vegetable oil
200 cc. water
3 tablespoon tamarind concentrate

1 tablespoon palm sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 tablespoon fish sauce

1/2 teaspoon light soy sauce

canola oil for deep frying

Preparation

1. Remove scales, gills, guts, clean and pat dry the fish.

2. Starting at tail end, run a fillet knife along the backbone in a smooth motion. (This may take more than one cut.) Cut around the rib cage to separate the fillet. Then cut the fillets into bite size pieces.

Definitely not the most beautiful fish fillet, but after deep frying no one can tell.

3. Deep fry the fish.

4. Heat up the wok with vegetable oil. Add in garlic, stir fry until light golden. Add in red chili peppers, stir fry for 10 seconds, then add the rest of sauce ingredients. Cook until the sauce is thicken.