Thanks to Costco, Tilapia (fish) has become a regular at dinner time at home. I was bored of eating oven baked and grilled tilapia and decided to do something different with it. Since I always loved hakka cuisine I decided to try making chilli fish, my way. This recipe is super easy and quick. I hope you like it.
Ingredients:
- Tilapia or any firm white fish, skinned - 1 fillet
- Cornstarch (corn flour) - 1 Tblspn or more
- Salt- 1 tsp + 2 tsp
- Oil - 2 tblspn
- Onion - 1, half of it finely chopped and half cubed
- Ginger - 1/2 inch, finely chopped
- Garlic - 3 cloves, finely chopped
- Light Soy sauce - 1 Tblspn
- Chilli Sauce - 1 Tblspn (or to taste)
- Ketchup (Tomato sauce) - 1 Tblspn (Or more)
- Green Peppers (Capsicum) - 1/2, chopped (optional, in these pictures I have not used them.)
Steps:
- Wash, dry and cut the fish into 1 inch pieces.
- Mix together the cornstarch and salt. Add the fish pieces to this mixture, make sure all the pieces are coated. Since we are not deep frying, the fish only needs to be lightly coated. Add more cornstarch if needed.
- Now, heat oil in a pan or wok. When the oil is hot add the fish pieces. Cook a minute or 2 on each side. Or until they turn golden brown on both sides.
- Remove the fish from the pan. Let the oil remain in the pan.
- In the same pan, add the chopped ginger and garlic, saute for few seconds and then add the soy sauce. Let the sauce cook for a minute and then add the chopped onions (ans also the green peppers) and saute.
- When the onions turn color, add the chili sauce, saute and then add the ketchup and saute for couple of mins until the raw smell of the chili sauce is gone.
- Mix 1 tsp cornstarch with half cup of water and the mixture to the pan. Stir and let if come to a boil. This will give a sheen and add body to the dish.
- Once the sauce thickens, add another 1/2 cup water (or more if you need a lot of gravy). Add the fried fish pieces to the sauce and bring it to a boil. And then simmer for couple of mins.
- You're done. The consistency of the dish is totally your choice. If you like your dish to be dry for an appetizer let it simmer a while, till you reach your desired consistency. And if you'd like a gravy, add more water and bring to a boil.
