Beer Fish
An Original Recipe by Not Quite NIgella
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
- Oil for frying
- 1 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and diced
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled and diced
- 2 large red chillies
- 2 tomatoes, cut into triangles smaller than the fish (halve, cut each half into three lobes and then in half again)
- 1 red capsicum, seeded and cut into triangles
- 1 green capsicum
- 1 stick celery, sliced into thin half moons
- 400g/14.1ozs. firm white fleshed fish (I used flathead), cut into bite sized pieces
- 1 stalk green spring onion
- 3 teaspoons oyster sauce
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon chicken stock powder (bouillon)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon sugar
- 3/4 cup beer
- 1.5 tablespoons cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons cold water
- Sesame oil
Step 1 - Mix the oyster and soy sauce, chicken powder, salt and sugar in a small bowl ready to use. Heat a wok or a pan on high heat until smoking. Knock back the heat onto medium and then fry the ginger, garlic and chillies for a minute until fragrant. Add the tomatoes and capsicums and fry for a minute or two. Add the fish and gently fry so that it gets browned (you can also deep fry the fish but I prefer not to deep fry). Add the oyster sauce mixture and 3/4 cup of beer (a light beer is best). Cook and gently, so that the fish doesn't break up, coat the vegetables and dish with the sauce two or three times.
Step 2 - When the fish and vegetables are ready, turn the heat down to low and stir the cornstarch mixture together and add it to the liquid to thicken it. Drizzle with some sesame oil and serve with steamed rice.