CRISP FISH IN SWEET-AND-SOUR TAMARIND SAUCE
- 1 whole fish – which may be redfish, dorade, bream, etc. Preferably a skin fish
- Oil for deep frying
- 5 dried chillies
- 10 dried kaffir lime leaves
- 2 lemongrass – sliced thin as a wafer
- 1 onion in very thin slices – preferably sliced on a mandolin
- 5 garlic cloves in thin slices – sliced on a mandolin
Clean the fish and prepare it for deep-frying. You can choose to cut out the fish into smaller pieces, but I prefer to deep-fry the whole fish.
Deep-fry onion and garlic and then the dried chilli and lime leaves before deep-frying the fish, as these must be deep-fried at a medium temperature.
Take up everything before turning up the heat of the oil in the wok. Be sure that the oil is sufficiently hot (about 175-190 degrees Celsius) before deep-frying the fish. The fish is done when it is crisp and golden. Pour the sauce over the fish to serve and top with the deep-fried accompaniments and the finely chopped lemongrass.
DEEP-FRYING IN A WOK: If you do not have a deep frier, a wok with oil is the ultimate means for deep-frying. Why? Because a wok is thinner and, thus, it is easier to maintain a (high) temperature, allowing you to fry rather than end up boiling your subject in the oil. A wok is deep, and bowel shaped. For this reason, you will use less oil. Always use vegetable oil for frying (with the exception of olive oil).
