serves
2
prep
20 minutes
cook
10 minutes
difficulty
Mid
serves
2
people
preparation
20
minutes
cooking
10
minutes
difficulty
Mid
level
Ingredients
- 300–500 g whole snapper, cleaned
- 1 eggwhite
- 2 tbsp potato starch
- 1 small green papaya or 1 large green mango (see Note), finely shredded
- ¼ Lebanese cucumber, sliced
- 3 cherry tomatoes, quartered
- vegetable oil, to deep-fry
Ginger and lime fish sauce (nuoc mam gung)
- 100 ml
- ½ lime, juiced
- 2 tsp finely chopped ginger
- 1 tsp finely chopped pickled red chilli (see Note)
Spring onion oil (mo hanh)
- 250 ml (1 cup) vegetable oil
- 8 spring onions, green part only, thinly sliced
Cooling time 1 hour
Drink match 2009 Salomon Undhof Wieden Grüner Veltliner or Tiger beer
Instructions
To make sauce, combine all the ingredients in a bowl. Makes 125 ml (½ cup).
To make onion oil, place oil and onions in a small pan over medium heat. When onions start to simmer, remove from heat and cool. Makes 250 ml (1 cup).
Wash and dry fish. Score each side 3 times diagonally; don’t cut through the bone.
To make batter, place egg white and potato starch in a large bowl and whisk to combine.
Fill a large wok or deep-fryer one-third full with oil. Heat over high heat to 180°C (or until a cube of bread turns golden in 10 seconds). Coat fish in batter, wipe off excess, then slide into oil. Cook for 5 minutes, turning halfway, or until skin is crisp and fish is just cooked.
Combine green papaya, cucumber and tomatoes with 80 ml (⅓ cup) sauce and 1 tbsp onion oil. Refrigerate remaining sauce and oil in airtight containers for up to 1 week.
Top fish with salad and serve immediately.
Note
• Green papaya, green mango and pickled red chilli are available from Asian food shops.
• Green papaya, green mango and pickled red chilli are available from Asian food shops.
Photography by Alan Benson.
As seen in Feast magazine, Sept 2011, Issue 1.
Cook's Notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.
