How to make Thai crunchy fish, a dinner party favourite coated with a sticky tamarind sauce

For this recipe use white sea bass or another firm, mild-tasting fish. Slice and dust with Thai tempura flour, then slow-fry in a wok to remove the moisture

Meanwhile, fry cashews, then sliced shallots. Remove. Mix tamarind pace with fish sauce and water, fry, then add chillies and shallots and coat fish. Serve.

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Susan Jung

Published: 4:15am, 11 Mar 2022

For this, my last recipe column for the South China Morning Post, I’m giving you a dish that so many people have asked for: crunchy fish.

It’s the creation of Tass – our Thai helper, who makes delicious kung chae nampla (raw shrimp salad), pad thai, grilled pork neck and fried shrimp salad. She makes variations on crunchy fish for every dinner party we have, and invariably, there’s nothing left on the serving platter.

Thai crunchy fish

Tass likes to use white sea bass (which is in the croaker family), but says you can choose another firm, mild-tasting fish. Don’t use an oily variety, such as mackerel or salmon.

The thinly sliced fish is fried at a relatively low temperature for quite a long time – about 10-15 minutes – until most of the moisture is gone, making the pieces firm and crunchy. It’s then coated in a sticky, tamarind-based sauce.

Gogi (or Kogi) powder is Thai tempura flour that makes for a good crunchy coating for seafood and meat. If you can’t find it (although it’s worth seeking out), use plain (all-purpose) flour.

Ingredients

650 grams (23 oz) skin-on fish fillets
15ml (1 tbsp) soy sauce, preferably Thai soy sauce
1 tsp finely ground white pepper
6 large shallots, peeled
5-7 red bird’s-eye chillies
3-4 spring onions
20ml (scant ¾ oz) tamarind paste (without seeds)
15ml (1 tbsp) fish sauce
15 grams (1 tbsp) granulated sugar
75 grams (2⅔ oz) cashews
Gogi/Kogi powder, as necessary
Cooking oil, as necessary

Slice the fish fillet thinly. Photo: SCMP/Jonathan Wong

1 Thinly slice the fish fillets – the pieces should be no thicker than 5mm (¼ in). Put the pieces on a plate then add the soy sauce and white pepper and mix well.