Chinese-style fish fillet with lemon sauce
Swordfish belly fillets are thinly sliced, seasoned, coated with batter, deep fried then tossed with a syrupy sauce made with fresh lemon juice, sugar, chili flakes, grated ginger, turmeric and kaffir lime leaves.
Servings 3 people
Ingredients
- 300 grams fish fillets (about 10.5 oz) cut into ¼-inch slices
- 1 teaspoon lemon pepper seasoning store bought
Lemon sauce
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- ⅓ cup white sugar
- ½ teaspoon grated lemon zest
- ¼ teaspoon grated ginger
- 2 pinches salt
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ½ teaspoon chili flakes
- 1 pair kaffir lime leaves thinly sliced (ribs discarded)
To fry the fish
- cooking oil for deep frying
- 1 egg white
- ¼ cup cornstarch
To serve
- sliced scallions
- mint leaves torn into small pieces
- lemon slices
Instructions
Season the fish
- Press the fish slices between stacks of kitchen paper to remove excess water.
- Place the fish in a bowl, add the lemon pepper seasoning and toss well.
Cook the lemon sauce
- In a small sauce pan, melt the sugar with the lemon juice and a quarter cup of water.
- Add the lemon zest, ginger, salt, turmeric, chili flakes and kaffir lime leaves.
- Boil over medium heat for about five minutes until reduced by half.
- Taste, add more lemon juice or salt, or both, then set aside to cool.
Fry the fish
- In a wok or frying pan, heat enough cooking to reach a depth of at least three inches.
- Pour the egg white over the seasoned fish, add the cornstarch, toss until a light batter forms and coats each slice of fish.
- Drop the battered fish fillets one by one into the hot oil.
- Cook until a crisp crust forms on the surface of the fish slices (see notes).
- Scoop out with a kitchen spider, tap gently over the pan to allow excess oil to drip off and transfer the fish to a shallow bowl or deep plate.
Assemble the dish
- Drizzle the lemon sauce over the dish.
- Sprinkle in the scallions and mint leaves.
- Arrange lemon slices on the side.
- Serve with rice.