Asian Pan-Fried Fish

This weekend Atul (my husband) got Mackerel and for the life of me I had never cooked a whole fish with bones before. My previous attempts have always been fillets which are easier to cook and there are loads of variations which I have experimented so that was my comfort zone. Now with 6 Mackerels on a plate I started wondering what to do, I knew grilling it or frying it was the best way out, so I started looking up recipes on the internet (my favourite place – BBC Good Food website) and then finally my library. I stumbled upon a book which I picked up in Bali – “The Food of Bali, Authentic Recipes from the Island of the Gods”. I finally settled for the Fish using the Balinese Spice Paste for Seafood. However, my larder was not my best friend today, and I was out of Lemon Grass and Macadamia Nuts and the recipe called for Shrimp Paste which I have never owned. So, with that recipe as my base I started improvising and came through this Balinese inspired Fish. The list of ingredients seems really long but is quite simple to make!

Ingredients

8 Whole Mackerels

The Marinade

4 small onion sliced and sautéed light brown in colour
¼ cup roasted peanuts (I roasted them in regular vegetable oil in a pan)
1 tomato coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon of preserved red paprika (in case you don’t find this you could increase the red chilli powder or add a green chilli
1 tsp red chilli powder (can make it as hot as you like it)
¼ cup of coarsely chopped ginger
10 cloves of garlic
¾ cup fresh coriander
1 tbsp coriander powder
1½ tbsp. fish sauce (optional)
2 tbsp Light Soy Sauce
1 tbsp butter
1½ tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp tamarind paste
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Vegetable Oil for pan frying the fish
Salt to taste

Note: I have put out a recipe for 8 as the marinade that I prepared would serve 8-9 (9-10 inch fish)

 

Method

·         The thing with Mackerel is that it’s a very smelly fish, so my first task was to get reduce the smell. I used a mix of vinegar (4 tbsp), turmeric powder (1 tbsp) and salt (2 tsp) and let the fish marinate in it for about two hours before I washed off the marinade and pat dried the fish with a kitchen towel.  

 

 

·         Begin with preparing the second marinade - grind all the ingredients in the processor. Check the mixture for salt and chillies and add more if required.
 

 

·         Coat the fish generously with the marinade and leave it for 1 hour. Don’t forget to pop a little inside the fish cavity.

 

·         Heat about 4 table spoons of oil in a large non-stick pan. Once the oil starts to smoke put the fish into the pan. I wouldn’t put more than 2 in a go, as you need place to turn the fish as well. Ensure that the fish is well coated with the marinade before you put it in the pan

 

 

 

·         Cook the fish on each side for about 4 minutes. If you feel the heat is too high, switch between a medium to high flame. When turning, use a flat fish turner, to ensure that the fish doesn’t break and the marinade sticks to the skin. (In the picture below I managed to scrape a little bit off one of the pieces..that's what you have to avoid !)

 

 

·         Carefully transfer to a serving dish. Take some of the marinade mixed with the oil from the pan and pour over the fish. Serve it alone, or with steamed rice.