EZCR#48 - RED BRAISED [HOONG SAU] THREADFIN

Whenever my husband comes home with freshly caught fishes from his fishing trip, I have to quickly search for recipes that are suitable to cook them.

According to him, different fishes require different cooking methods to make them taste good. For Threadfin [Ma Yau Yee or Ikan Senangin], it has to be fried if it is small and not by steaming for better meat texture and flavor. This piece of fish weighs about 900 gm. It’s a big one and I had to cut it into 2 for easier frying. Luckily, I had a good non-stick pan for frying and to prevent the oil from spluttering all over the stove, I covered the pan with greaseproof paper [so that my kitchen would not be greasy].

I used red braised sauce [hoong sau sauce ingredients] to cook this dish but I didn’t braise the fish with the sauce. Instead, I cooked the sauce separately until aromatic and thick, then pour it over the fried fish. This way, the fish edges especially around the slits stay crispy.

Ingredients

1 whole fish [about 600 gm] – cleaned and cut narrow slits on both sides

2 pieces dried mushrooms – soaked and cut strips

3 cloves garlic – sliced

1 red chilli – seeded and cut strips 

1 stalk spring onions and coriander leaves – cut 1 inch lengths

Braising Sauce [Combined]

2 tbsp light soy sauce

2 tbsp black vinegar

2 tsp brown sugar

Dash of pepper and salt to taste

4 tbsp water

1. Heat a non-stick wok with 2-3 tbsp oil. Put in the fish pieces to fry until brown and cooked on both sides. Remove and place on serving platter. Remove excess oil.
2. Using the same wok, sauté garlic and the white portion of the spring onions until fragrant and slightly brown.
3. Add in the mushrooms and chilli. Pour in the sauce ingredients, bring to boil until bubbly.
4. Pour sauce over fried fish and garnish with spring onions and coriander leaves.