From The Straits Times    |


Coordination Lim Tsiao Hui Photography Wong Wei Liang Art Direction & Styling Nikki Ho

SQUIRREL FISH WITH SWEET AND SOUR SAUCE
By Gu Chun Jie, head chef at Xi Yan

INGREDIENTS
1 grouper (about 500-700g)
½ tsp salt
2 tsp white pepper
2 tbsp Shaoxing wine (hua diao jiu)
1 egg white Vegetable oil, for stir-frying the garlic and deep-frying the fish
3 tbsp grated garlic
1 passion fruit
4 tsp chopped onions
1 stalk lemongrass, with the lower of the stalk finely chopped
2 chilli padi (optional), chopped
50ml fresh lime juice
75ml white rice vinegar
1 tbsp sugar
1½ cups water
1 tbsp potato flour, mixed with 2 tbsp water to make a paste
Plain flour, for dusting the fish

DIRECTIONS
1 Debone the fish and make cuts on the fillets.  (see below)
2 Season the fish with salt, pepper and 1 tbsp of Shaoxing wine. Rub the egg white over it and set aside for 15min.
3 To make the sweet and sour sauce, heat 2 tbsp of oil in a wok and stirfry the garlic until fragrant. Add the remaining 1 tbsp of Shaoxing wine, the flesh of the passion fruit, onions, lemongrass, chilli padi, lime juice, white rice vinegar, sugar and water and bring it to the boil. Add the potato flour paste to thicken the sauce. Remove from heat and set aside.
4 Dust the fish lightly with plain flour. Deep-fry it for 1min and remove from heat. 5 Let the oil heat up again and deepfry the fish for 15 seconds. Frying the fish twice makes it crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside.