Cooking Ah Pa

Fried Fish with Taucu 豆瓣酱煎鱼

Cooking Time: 10 Minutes

Dificulty: Easy

Tag: Fish

INGREDIENTS

500 grams snapper (cleaned, slit)

5 inches ginger (minced)

5 cloves of garlic (chopped)

2 big red chillies (sliced diagonally and seeds removed)

2 tablespoons bean curd paste (minced taucu)

1 cup hot water/chicken stock

Green onion (optional)

Salt, light soy sauce, white paper (seasoning) 

STEPS

1. Pat dry the fish with a paper towel (less water means less oil splatter during frying) and rub it with salt. Heat oil in a frying pan on high temperature (180 Celcius) and slowly place the fish inside. Pan-fry the fish until it is golden brown on both sides, for about 3-4 minutes each side. Set aside in an absorbing oil paper.

TIPS: If the oil is smoking it means the temperature is at least 180 degrees. Smoke should be coming out from oil, not from the pan.

TIPS: Do not flip the fish too early. Let it fry for at least 2-3 minutes on one side before flipping it over. This helps avoid the issue of the fish sticking on the pan. Using more oil also helps with the sticking problem.

2. Heat oil in another pan and sauté garlic and ginger until fragrant. This should take 2-3 minutes. Then lower the temperature and add the beancurd paste. Stir for 30 seconds before pouring in some water. Mix this evenly until it produces a beany smell. Proceed to season with salt, sugar, light soy sauce, and white paper. Mix well and bring to a boil.

TIPS: The beancurd itself is already salted, so use salt sparringly. 

TIPS: Use bean curd paste as it gives more flavour. If you're using normal bean curd, do chop it up.   

3. Turn off the heat and pour the sauce over the fried fish which you have placed on a new serving plate. Garnish with red chilies. It is now ready to serve.