Lunch: Crispy Fried Elephant Fish with Ginger Fish Sauce: CA Tai Tuong Chien Xu

Ingredients

3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons fish sauce
3 tablespoons white vinegar
4 ounces water
4 tablespoons fresh ginger, julienned
1 tablespoon chopped chile
1 tablespoon chopped fresh garlic (about 3 cloves)
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 (1 1/2 pounds) whole elephant fish, unscaled (or snapper, scaled)*
Vegetable oil, for frying (about 4 cups)
3 sprigs fresh coriander ( cilantro), for garnish
Steamed jasmine rice, for serving
*Cook's Note: You can use whole snapper as a substitute for the elephant fish; however the snapper will have to be scaled.

Instructions

In a small saucepan, combine the sugar, fish sauce, vinegar, and water and bring to the boil. Take off the heat, and transfer to a bowl and allow to cool. In a mortar and pestle, pound together the ginger, chile, and garlic. Once the fish sauce mixture is cooled, add the ginger mixture and lime juice. Set aside.
In a large wok (large enough to hold the entire fish), heat the oil to 350 degrees F. Carefully, slide the whole fish into the oil and cook on high heat for 5 minutes. The scales of the elephant fish will puff up as it cooks. Remove the fish to a platter, and dress with 4 tablespoons of ginger fish sauce and garnish with fresh cilantro.
Serve the fish with steamed jasmine rice and remaining ginger sauce.

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