Fried Fish with Sweet Chili and Garlic Sauce

Name: Fried Fish with Sweet Chili and Garlic Sauce
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 15 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Thai
Ingredients: 1-2 Whole tilapia, large scaled, cleaned, head left on, scored on both sides; 1-2 Thai long chili chopped; 3 Thai hot chilies chopped, to taste; 6 Garlic, large cloves finely chopped; 2 3/4 tablespoons Coconut sugar; 2 3/4 tablespoons Fish sauce; 1 1/3 cups Vegetable oil for frying; 2 3/4 tablespoons All-purpose flour for dusting

Plah Tub Tim Rad Prik

Whole fried fish topped with a sticky garlic and chili sauce

Fried Fish with Sweet Chili and Garlic Sauce

Prep: 5 min
Cook: 10 min
Serves: 4
Heat: hot

Frying a whole fish crisp and then finishing it with a bold sauce is a dish more often ordered at a restaurant than made at home, mostly because getting a whole fish cooked through without drying it out takes a bit of attention. Here the fish fries plain, seasoned only with a light dusting of flour, so the sauce carries all the flavor: chopped garlic and chili fried in the fish's own leftover oil until fragrant, then loosened with fish sauce and sugar into a sticky, clinging glaze. Poured over the fish tableside, it's meant to be shared, with diners working through one side before flipping the fish and finishing with the reserved sauce on the other.

Ingredients

1-2 Whole tilapia, large (scaled, cleaned, head left on, scored on both sides)
1-2 Thai long chili (chopped)
3 Thai hot chilies (chopped, to taste)
6 Garlic, large cloves (finely chopped)
2 3/4 tablespoons Coconut sugar
2 3/4 tablespoons Fish sauce
1 1/3 cups Vegetable oil (for frying)
2 3/4 tablespoons All-purpose flour (for dusting)

Directions

Scale and clean the fish, leaving the head on. Score both sides deeply with a sharp knife, cutting nearly to the center bone. Dust both sides lightly with flour.
Heat oil in a large flat pan to about 280F/140C, deep enough that the fish is nearly submerged. Lay the fish in without moving it and fry until golden brown on the first side.
While the fish fries, chop the chilies (about equal total to the garlic) and the garlic finely.
Flip the fish and fry the second side, which usually takes less time — watch closely so it doesn't burn. Pull the fish while the meat is still moist, since it dries out quickly if overcooked. Drain on a wire rack.
Pour off most of the frying oil, leaving a little along with any crispy bits in the pan. Add the garlic and chili and fry over low heat for a couple of minutes.
Add the fish sauce and coconut sugar, stirring until the sugar fully melts and the sauce turns thick and sticky. Watch the heat closely — the garlic burns easily at this stage.
Plate the fish and spoon about half the sauce over it, saving the rest in a small bowl on the side. Serve with steamed rice.

Notes

Pull the fish from the oil a little earlier than seems right — this type of fish dries out fast once overcooked, going from moist to crispy bone in a short window.

Substitutions

Bass, bluegill, crappie, or other perch-type freshwater fish work well in place of tilapia. Adjust the ratio of mild to hot chili to control the heat — the sauce is meant to be roughly equal parts chili, garlic, fish sauce, and sugar.