BAKED WHOLE FISH IN GARLIC-CHILI SAUCE

BAKED WHOLE FISH IN GARLIC-CHILI SAUCE image

Yield 2-4

Number Of Ingredients 14

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Ingredients

1 whole red snapper or gray mullet, OR 2 or more whole rainbow trout or tilapia, fresh or frozen
generous handful fresh coriander
handful fresh basil
lemon slices or wedges for serving
tin foil or banana leaves (if cooking in the oven)
MARINADE/SAUCE:
4 Tbsp. oyster sauce
4 Tbsp. soy sauce
8-10 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 Tbsp. fish sauce
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 Tbsp. lime or lemon juice
1-3 red chilies, sliced, OR 2+ tsp. Thai chili sauce (adjust the amount according to how spicy you'd like your fish)

Steps:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees, OR warm up your barbecue/grill. Stir all marinade/sauce ingredients together in a bowl. Set aside. Place fish on a cutting board and score it by making vertical cuts an inch or more apart along the length of fish from head to tail. Turn fish over and do the same on the other side. If Grilling the Fish: See below. For Baked Fish: Place fish on a large piece of tin foil or banana leaf. Make sure the foil or leaf is big enough to cover/wrap the fish. (For more information on banana leaf, see my: All About Cooking With Banana Leaves.) Drizzle 3 Tbsp. (or more) of the marinade/sauce over each fish, covering both sides. Be sure to spoon some into the cuts you've made, as well as into the underside cavity. Reserve the rest for later. Bring the long sides of the foil up and over the fish, scrunching it together. Try to keep the foil off the surface of the fish, making a kind of shallow tent over it. Also fold up each end and scrunch to secure. If using banana leaf: Simply fold the sides and ends of the leaf over fish to cover it. With banana leaf, you actually want the leaf to come into contact with the fish, as this adds to the flavor. Bake the fish (in foil) directly on your oven rack. Or - if you're worried about spillage, place wrapped fish on a baking sheet or tray and place in the oven. Fish wrapped in banana leaf will require a dish or tray, as banana leaf is permeable. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes or longer, depending on the size and thickness of your fish. Remove fish from oven and check some of the deeper cuts to see if inner flesh is cooked (it should be opaque, not pink or translucent-looking). If fish still needs more time, return to your oven for another 8-10 minutes, or until cooked. To finish the fish, remove from oven and open up the foil, scrunching it around the fish to create a kind of bowl (see photo). For banana leaf, simply open up the leaf, which will have become drier and slightly crispy.