Whole fried fish slathered in a delicious perfectly balanced sweet and sour sauce. This recipe requires no deep frying. The sauce is not too sour and not too sweet. Made of pineapple juice, vinegar, and spices. It’s a perfect dish to serve at your family gatherings, New Year or fiestas.
Prep Time10 minutesmins
Cook Time20 minutesmins
Servings: 4servings
Calories: 221kcal
Author: Mella
Ingredients
2medium-sizewhole fishcleaned and de-scaled, note 1
Prepare the fish - Rinse the fish and pat dry with a paper towel. Make 2 to 3 slits across the top on each side, about one inch apart. Season inside and out with salt and coat both sides with cornstarch.
Heat oil over high heat in a shallow pan or wok. Test the oil with the stick end of a wooden spoon or a wooden chopstick. The oil is ready when rapid bubbles form around.
Cook the fish - Fry each side of the fish until golden brown. Transfer to a serving dish deep enough for the sauce not to spill out. Set aside.
Sauce
Prepare the sauce - In a bowl, dissolve the chicken powder in hot water. Add the rest of the sauce ingredients and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Taste and adjust the sugar and vinegar according to preference.
Stir-fry the vegetables - In a pan, heat vegetable oil. Add vegetables and aromatics. Saute until fragrant. Pour sweet and sour sauce. DON'T STIR until it starts to gently boil. Taste-test and adjust seasonings salt/pepper/sugar as needed.
Thicken the sauce - Continue cooking until the sauce thickens. If you want a thicker sauce, dissolve 1 more tsp of cornstarch in a small amount of water. Pour into the sauce and simmer to thicken.
Serve
Immediately pour the sauce all over the fish. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
Use fresh fish - check for the signs: eyes are clear (not cloudy) and plump (not deflated), the flesh is firm and shiny (it should bounce back a bit when touched), gills should be bright pink/red and wet (not slimy or dry). Recommended types of fish: Pampano, Tilapia, Snapper (Maya Maya), Pomfret (Pampano), Grouper (Lapu-Lapu), Barramundi/ Sea Bass (Apahap).
Water - start with 1/2 cup water, add more to lessen sourness based on preference about 1 tablespoon at a time.
Pineapple juice - Use pure pineapple juice and not the syrup to get the perfect tart and sweetness.
Vinegar - cider, red and white wine vinegar, cane vinegar, and coconut vinegar.
Nutrition - Assuming each fried fish absorbs 1 tbsp of oil. It's impossible for me to determine exactly how much oil is absorbed during frying.