Tilapia escabeche
A whole tilapia is seasoned and stuffed with spices, deep fried, smothered with sweet sour sauce, and topped with thinly sliced vegetables.
Servings 4 people
Ingredients
- 2 whole tilapia (about 1.2 kilograms / 2.6 pounds total weight) cleaned and gutted
- 2 tablespoons rock salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 cloves garlic peeled and lightly pounded
- 2 one-inch knobs ginger peeled and lightly pounded
- 2 stalks lemongrass (lower off-white portion only) lightly pounded
Sweet sour sauce
- ¼ cup vinegar
- ½ cup white sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons tomato sauce
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch dispersed in two tablespoons water
Vegetable topping
- 1 tablespoon cooking oil
- 1 clove garlic peeled and minced
- 1 one-inch knob ginger peeled and minced
- 1 stalk lemongrass (lower off-white portion only) peeled and thinly sliced
- 1 onion peeled and thinly sliced
- 1 small carrot peeled and julienned
- 1 bell pepper deseeded and julienned
For frying
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- cooking oil
Instructions
Season the fish
- Rinse the tilapia and pat dry with paper towels.
- Rub the salt and pepper evenly over the entire surface of both fish.
- Divide the lemongrass, garlic and ginger into two portions, and use one portion to stuff the cavity of each fish.
- Place the fish in a covered container and leave to marinate in the fridge for two hours.
Make the sweet sour sauce
- Stir the vinegar, sugar, salt and tomato sauce in a sauce pan.
- Heat the mixture, stirring often, until the sugar is completely dissolved.
- Pour in the starch solution and cook, stirring, until the sauce is thick and no longer cloudy.
Cook the vegetables
- Heat a tablespoon of cooking oil in a frying pan.
- Saute the reserved portion of the sliced lemongrass, garlic and ginger until aromatic.
- Add the onion, carrot and bell pepper.
- Cook the vegetables just until done. Scoop out and set aside.
Fry the tilapia
- Take the fish out of the fridge and dry with paper towels once more.
- In a thick-bottomed frying pan, heat enough cooking oil to reach a depth of two inches.
- Lightly coat the tilapia with cornstarch; shake off the excess.
- Fry the tilapia, in batches if your frying pan is on the small side, turning the fish over for even cooking, until golden and crisp.
Assemble the tilapia escabeche
- Arrange the fried tilapia in shallow bowls.
- Drizzle sweet sour sauce over the fish.
- Top with the vegetables and, optionalll, sliced scallions.
