Fish in Hot Garlic Sauce

I am posting a Chinese recipe after a long time; earlier posts include this Burnt Ginger Rice, Sizzling Sesame Noodles and Vegetables in Hot Garlic Sauce. This is the first time I have cooked fish Chinese style; though we love Oriental cooking a lot and enjoy trying new dishes when we eat out, Chinese cooking at home is usually a last minute idea and so restricted to pan fried noodles and a vegetable stir fry. This time though I planned Sunday lunch to incorporate some nice sole I had at home. Once I decided to cook it Chinese style, making a vegetable fried rice to go with it was easy business.

The fish was marinated in lime juice and then patted in cornflour and fried. The sauce was extremely easy too – finely chopped ginger and garlic, oyster sauce and red chilli paste went into it and it was thickened with cornflour. The fried fish was put in at the end and finished with vinegar and freshly crushed black pepper. The whole dish took me about 25 minutes to cook from start to finish.

I usually don’t fry fish, so this was a first for me – but it wasn’t greasy like I expected and needed to remain in the hot oil for just under 4 minutes. This dish is definitely a crowd pleaser – the oyster sauce gives it a nice consistency and the fresh ginger and garlic add great flavor.

Fish in Hot Garlic Sauce

Fish fillets - 300 gms
Cornflour - 4-5 tbsp
Onion - 1
Ginger - 1 " piece
Garlic - 3-4 cloves chopped finely
Green chillies - 3-4
Oyster Sauce - 2 tbsp
Red chilli paste - 1 tbsp
Sugar - 1 tsp
salt to taste
Chilli vinegar - 1 tbsp
Freshly crushed peppercorns - 1 tsp
Oil - 3 tbsp

1. Clean and pat dry fish, cut into 2 " pieces and marinate with lemon juice and salt for about 10 minutes
2. Heat sufficient oil in a wok, roll the fish pieces in 3 tbsp cornflour and deep fry for 2-3 minutes. Drain and keep aside
3. Finely slice onion, garlic and ginger; slit the green chillies
4. Dissolve 2 tbsp of cornflour in one cup of water. Mix the oyster sauce, sugar and salt with one cup of water
5. Heat 3 tbsp oil in a wok, add the onion, green chillies, ginger and garlic and stir fry for a minute
Add the red chilli paste fry for one more minute, then the oyster sauce mixture and bring to boil.
6. Add the blended cornflour and cook for 2 minutes till the sauce starts to thicken.
7. Add the fried fish pieces and cook for a minute more, adding some more water if needed.
8. Stir in vinegar and the crushed pepper ; serve hot with Chinese Fried Rice.