Traditionally an extremely spicy dish, you may tone down the heat by substituting bell pepper for half (or more) of the chilies in the sauce. For a fruitier version, I add mango cubes.
Cook’s notes
Most Thai food is spicy hot. Even those labeled “mildly hot” are still too hot for people who didn’t grow up with chilies as a regular feature in their diet. That may sound like a common enough observation but we realized the magnitude of the truth in that observation when we bought ready-to-heat meals at a 7-11 outlet in Chiang Mai.
Early in 2020, my younger daughter, Alex, and I flew to Chiang Mai for a vacation. We arrived at around 6.00 p.m., we got to our accomodation an hour later, we were tired and we just wanted a good meal and bed. It just wasn’t the time to explore. Yet. We’d do that the next day.
So, after checking in, we walked outside. Right there on the street where the condo was, there were night markets on both sides. We took notice but did not go in. Instead, we bought food.
Back at the condo, we reheated the food in the microwave. Mine was a duck and noodle dish, not a soup, and it was great. Alex chose Thai chicken basil which she found too hot. I tried it and I couldn’t blame her. The package did say “mildly hot” but I guess it’s only mildly hot for Thais. She did manage to eat most of the rice and a little of the chicken, and she washed them down with two glasses of milk.
The first time I made Thai tamarind sauce was in 2012. I tossed yellow bell peppers to give the sauce color and texture then I spooned everything on fried milkfish (bangus) belly fillets.
In 2020, I did another version. I used red bell peppers that were cut into small cubes. When the tamarind sauce was done, I stirred in mango cubes and scallions. Half of the chunky sauce went over fried fish to make pla rad prik.
Toning down the heat of the tamarind sauce
So, if like us, too much heat in a dish burns your taste buds and leaves you unable to appreciate the rest of the flavors in your food, if you’re doing the cooking anyway, use less chilies. If using less chilies means a less colorful dish, fret not. Chopped red bell pepper will provide whatever lack in color there is. It’s true for whatever dish requires red chilies. It’s definitely true for Thai tamarind sauce.
The first time I made Thai tamarind sauce was in 2012. I tossed yellow bell peppers to give the sauce color and texture then I spooned everything on fried milkfish (bangus) belly fillets.
In 2020, I did another version. I used red bell peppers that were cut into small cubes. When the tamarind sauce was done, I stirred in mango cubes and scallions. Half of the chunky sauce went over fried fish to make pla rad prik.
About the fish
Although a fish dish, I find that pla rad prik is more about the sauce than the fish. You may use a whole fish, fillets or steaks. The important thing is to season the fish and fry it until a light crisp crust covers the entire surface. The flesh inside should stay moist.Frying the fish
It is imperative that the cooking temperature is correct and that the temperature is retained throughout the cooking. Easier said than done? Here are two tips: First, heat the cooking oil until you see fine wisps of smoke floating on the surface. That’s how I know that the correct temperature has been reached. Alternatively, use a thermometer and wait for the oil to reach 350F. Second, never overcrowd the pan. Since only two fish steaks are used in this dish, that shouldn’t be too difficult. But if you multiply the number of fish steaks to feed more people, multiply the amount of cooking oil too and use a larger frying pan. The fish steaks shouldn’t touch one another during frying.Should the frying pan be covered during frying?
I normally don’t to avoid steam build-up which can prevent the formation of light crisp crust. But if you’re worring about oil spatters, a stainless steel splash screen should help.Fried fish with Thai tamarind sauce (pla rad prik)
Ingredients
Fish
- 2 fish steaks
- salt
Thai tamarind sauce
- 4 cloves garlic
- 4 shallots or one large onion
- 2 stalks lemongrass (lower portions only, peeled)
- 2 bird’s eye chilies
- 2 tablespoons cooking oil
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 2 tablespoons palm sugar (brown sugar is an passable substitute)
- 2 tablespoons tamarind paste
- 1 bell pepper any color, or half of a large one, cut into strips (optional)
- fresh ripe mango cut into small cubes
- 2 tablespoons sliced scallions
To fry the fish
- cornstarch
- cooking oil (enough to reach a depth of two inches)
To serve
- cooked rice
Instructions
Season the fish
- Rinse the fish well then pat dry with paper towels to remove surface moisture.
- Rub the entire surface of the fish steaks with salt and rest on a rack.
Cook the tamarind sauce
- With a mortar and pestle (or a blender or food processor), process the garlic, shallots (or onion), lemongrass and chilies to a paste.
- Heat two tablespoons of cooking oil in a small frying pan.
- Over medium heat, gently cook the paste with the fish sauce, sugar and tamarind paste until the solids separate from the oil. It’ll take about ten minutes with occasional stirring.
- Add the bell peppers, cook for another 30 seconds, taste, and adjust the seasonings if needed.
- Off the heat, stir in the mangoes and scallions, if using.
Fry the fish
- Sprinkle cornstarch on all sides of the fish; shake off any excess.
- Heat the cooking oil in a wok or frying pan until wisps of smoke float on the surface.
- Carefully slide in the fish steaks and cook on both sides until nicely a light crisp crust forms on the surface.
Assemble the dish
- Ladle rice into two shallow bowls and top each with a fish steak.
- Divide the tamarind sauce into two portions, and spoon one portion over each fish steak.
- Serve immediately.
Chicken, mushroom and egg rice bowl