This recipe is a healthful version of the battered, deep-fried and crispy fish at Rossy’s Tacos in Baja California. I have never had their fish tacos, but this recipe sound great as a main dish or in a taco. From eatingwell.com .
I LOVE Jimmy’s Kitchen in Hong Kong – not the modern restaurant that is operating now, but the old one from the 1960’s that was situated in Hong Kong Central. (The original Jimmy’s Kitchen first opened in 1928 in Hong Kong.) This is my take on a favourite dish I used to have there many moons ago – curried fish; a whole fish cooked in the pan and lightly curried. You can make this as hot as you want – I always had it HOT when I ate it there! Use any firm white fish fillets, I use panga in France, but snapper, tilapia, sea bream or even plaice would be good. You can cut the fish into smaller pieces for ease of pan frying if you wish – I just like the “whole” fish effect on my plate when I serve this! No need to serve this with anything else other than piles of steamed or boiled white rice and maybe some radish pickle, sweet chilli sauce and soy sauce on the side. Adjust the heat to suit your guests or yourselves – and don’t forget the ice cold San Miguel beer!
My entire family loves this dish. I grill thick salmon steaks in a grill pan, but it can be cooked on a barbecue, or sauteed in a cast iron skillet. I have made this with whole tilapias and with halibut. I have seasoned the fish with Old Bay and once with a fish rub instead of the salt and pepper. You can actually use just about any kind of fish you like, as long as it will hold its shape after cooking. Once, I only had 2 shallots on hand, so I used 1 small red onion along with the 2 shallots. I have used 1 large jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped finely, when out of Thai chilies. When out of fresh ginger, I have used 1 1/2 Tbsp of jarred, pickled ginger, chopped. No tomatoes? leave them out. You can use apple cider vinegar instead of rice wine vinegar. As you can see, this dish is very forgiving. I cook the topping in a separate skillet alongside and it is ready right as the fish is. This meal cooks up in 10 minutes, looks and tastes great.
Easy and healthier way to get crispy tasty fish. NOTE: you MUST use the right pan! Please be sure to use a broiler pan so the breading gets hot air on the bottom too and isn’t soggy on the bottom when you go to turn it. OR use a cooling rack on a cookie sheet. Do not use a pan with sides as that will steam the fish, not make it crispy. I have never had the breading fall off using the correct methods. If you don’t care for cornmeal use panko. I have used mostly mild whitefish like catfish or tilapia with great results. Don’t be scared by the number of ingredients—it is mostly spices and herbs. Please adjust the spices, especially salt, to your taste. I have tried to post a balanced blend here but feel free to adjust mild, spicy, lower sodium etc…
This dish is loaded with flavor and makes a lovely, colorful presentation. You’ll want to serve with plenty of rice to absorb the wonderful sauce. (Noted added 11/05/07: I like to credit original recipe sources when known, but wasn’t sure about this one when I submitted the recipe. Fortunately, a reviewer pointed out that the recipe came from Cooking Light, so I searched their site–indeed, it was originally published in their September 2002 issue. Thanks to the reviewer for bringing this to my attention, and thanks to Cooking Light for developing the recipe! 🙂 )
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