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Crispy Fish in Pineapple Sauce

Jen Paleracio
Deep-fried crispy red snapper in sweet and tangy pineapple sauce.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine Chinese, Filipino, Japanese

Equipment

  • Wok or wide deep pan
  • Spider ladle
  • Wooden spoon or any cooking spatula
  • knife
  • cutting board

Ingredients
  

  • 1 carrot, thinly sliced
  • 1 bell pepper, deseed, thinly sliced
  • 1 yellow onion, sliced
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 green onions, sliced
  • 1 inch-sized ginger, minced
  • 1 cup fresh pineapple, cut into chunks
  • 1 cup pineapple juice
  • 3 tablespoons oil for sauteeing, more for frying
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • flour for dredging

FOR THE SAUCE

  • 3 tablespoons light soy sauce
  • 3 tablespoons oyster sauce
  • 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon sesame oil

FOR THE RUB

  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon red chili pepper flakes

Instructions
 

  • Clean the fish, remove the gills and scales. Cut slits on the skin to absorb more of the seasonings. Combine garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and red chili pepper flakes, rub the fish with seasonings outside and inside.
  • Dredge the fish into flour. Heat a wide deep pan with oil (enough oil for deep frying). Make sure the oil is hot enough (to check if the oil is hot, dip the wooden spoon into it and when you see bubbles on the tip of the wooden spoon, the oil is ready).
  • Carefully slide the whole fish into the hot oil (be careful with oil splatters). Cook for 3 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Carefully flip the fish using a spider ladle and a wooden spoon for even browning. Set aside.
  • Make the sauce by combining all the sauce ingredients. Dissolve the cornstarch in pineapple juice. Heat a clean pan with oil, add the onion, garlic, and ginger, saute for a minute or until aromatic.
  • Add the rest of the veggies except green onions. Saute for a minute or until the veggies are slightly tender (but still a bit crispy). Add the sauce and the pineapple mixture, simmer, keep stirring until the sauce thickened.
  • Pour the sauce over the cooked fish. Sprinkle green onions, serve with steamed rice.

Notes

  • Pick a fresh fish. Check for clear eyes, and a not-so-strong fishy smell, it should smell fresh in the ocean (if possible). 
  • Be very careful when flipping the fish while frying. You want to retain a nice shape of the fish and not break them into pieces. Use a nice kitchen tool like tongs, spider ladle, or wooden spoon to help aid when flipping the fish. 
  • Use a wide deep pan or wok when deep frying. 
  • Make sure the oil is hot enough before adding the fish into the pan. Use a wooden spoon dipping method for testing oil if it's hot enough. 
  • I like using fresh pineapple as suppose to the canned ones. The fresh ones retain their firm shape when cooking versus the canned ones. 
Keyword cooking, meal planning, meal preppping, pineapple sauce, red snapper, seafood