Deep frying had never been up high on my favourite list. Way too
messy dealing with so much oil. My fear of being splattered with hot
oil must have come from those childhood visits to Haw Par Village in
Singapore. The entire village was a depiction of how you’ll be tortured
in hell for your sins on earth. Perhaps that was my parent’s idea of
instilling some good behaviour in me. Somehow, the hot oil submersion
episode remained clear in my memory.
When cooking fish, I always
preferred pan-frying to sear the skin giving the fish a healthy brown
coat then into the oven for grilling. This way, you can get a slight
crisp on the surface while maintaining moist inside. Moist as though
its been steamed.
Food is always a highlight when it comes to
travelling, it is part of immersing yourself into a new culture. In my
recent trip to Bangkok, I was amazed at the array of flavours that were
combined in each dish. Somewhere I’ve read that Thai food would always
be sweet, salty, sour and spicy all in one dish.
Pan Fried Fish a la Thai (as inspired by Thailand)
1 whole medium sized fish, rubbed with salt
3 bird eye chilli (mine came fresh from Hanoi-fiery litte ones!)
1/2 clove garlic, finely chopped
1/2 inch ginger, shredded
2 small onions, finely chopped
2 sprigs sweet basil, shredded
4 Kaffir lime leaves
Juice from 2 limes
Nam pla (fish sauce)
Pan fry the fish on high heat 1 minute on each side.
To prepare the topping, bruise remaining ingredients in mortar.
Add some oil to infuse flavours followed by salt & pepper.
Spread topping on fish and grill at 210C for 15 minutes depending size of fish.
Serve with freshly chopped coriander immediately.
