Best Salt Crusted Whole Fish Plaa Phao Kleua Recipes

SALT CRUSTED WHOLE FISH

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, trimmed to extend 3-inches in diameter around outside of the fish.
• In a medium bowl, combine the egg whites, sea salt, flour, 2 tablespoons of the parsley and 1/2 cup of water. Mix with your hands until a thick paste forms.
• Fill the cavity of the fish with the sun-dried tomatoes, olives, artichoke hearts and lemon slices. Rub the exterior of the fish with the garlic, then sprinkle with the remaining 1 tablespoon of parsley and freshly ground black pepper
• Put the fish on the parchment lined baking sheet. Mound the salt paste evenly over the entire fish. Press the mixture firmly down to the baking sheet, being careful to seal any cracks.
• Bake the fish until the crust is golden brown and very firm, about 18 to 20 minutes.
• Slide the parchment and fish onto serving platter or cutting board and crack the crust with a handle of a large knife. Slide a spoon under the top fillet, over the spine, and lift it to a serving platter. Turn over and repeat. Garnish with lemon slices and serve immediately.

SALT-CRUSTED FISH

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Place each branzino on a cutting board. Cut off the top and side fins using scissors. Arrange 3 even piles of the lemon slices, 2 sprigs thyme and 2 sprigs rosemary in a cast-iron skillet large enough to hold all 3 fish (or use smaller cast-iron skillets large enough to hold one fish each). Lay a fish on top of each pile in a standing position so that the open cavity is resting on the lemons, and herbs. Set aside.
• Combine the salt, egg whites and dried thyme in a large bowl to form a grainy paste. Press a 1/4-inch layer of the salt mixture onto each fish until they are completely encased.
• Place the skillet or skillets in the oven and roast until an instant-read thermometer registers 135 degrees F when inserted into the thickest part of the fish, about 20 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes. Use a large spoon to break open the salt mixture-you will need to apply a little force-and peel the salt layer off.
• Serve the fish family-style, with lemon wedges.

THAI GRILLED FISH RECIPE (PLA PAO ปลาเผา)

Steps:

• When you buy your whole fish, ask the vendor (or yourself) to do two things: One, try to remove the guts from the gills of the fish, without slicing the fish open on the belly, and two, leave the scales on the fish (if you have the choice).
• Probably the first thing you want to do (if you're using charcoal, which I would recommend), is to get the charcoal going first, so it's ready when the fish is prepared.
• Make sure you rinse your fish with water and then pat them dry with a paper towel.
• Take your lemongrass stalks and beat and bruise them with something hard, like a mortar, or a rolling pin or something like that. This is going to bring out the lovely flavor of the lemongrass. Also prepare a small handful of kaffir lime leaves.
• Fold the lemongrass in half and begin to stuff the fish with a stalk of lemongrass and about 10 kaffir lime leaves. Depending on how big your fish is will determine how many stalks of lemongrass you can fit. I put 2 - 3 lemongrass stalks in each fish in the video. Make sure it's tight, but also make sure not to push so hard that you break the flesh of the fish.
• In a large mixing bowl or pan add ½ kilo bag of salt, sprinkle in 2 tablespoons of all purpose flour, and add about 1 tablespoon of water. Mix it up thoroughly, massaging the mixture with your hand, until it's fully mixed. You want the salt to be a little moist so it sticks to the fish easily.
• Add the fish to the pan and start plastering it with the salt mixture. Pat and rub the fish with the salt, making sure to cover the entire fish, and all over the head and tail. Do the same to both fish.
• For grilling the fish, you want to have a steady, yet quite low heat. Make sure you have a bed of coals, and if they are too hot you can either tone them down with a scoop of ashes, or push the really hot coals to one side of the grill and put the fish on the other side (using a little indirect heat). You can also add more coals as you keep on cooking. You want to slow cook the fish without them burning on the outside. My fish took almost 1 hour to grill. So aim for low heat for slow cooking.
• Once your fish is on the grill, it's time to get started on the seafood sauce (below).
• Try to wait for about 15 minutes before you flip the fish. If you flip it too early, when the salt hasn't dried out completely yet, the fish skin might get stuck onto the griddle. Flip the fish as little as possible.
• Keep roasting until the fish feels firm and the white salted skin has turned crusty and golden. It should take about 45 minutes to 1 hour.
• Take the fish off the grill, and set it on a platter.
• To eat the fish, you can either use a knife or scissors, and from the top of the fish, cut through the skin. The skin should cleanly lift off the fish revealing moist and beautiful meat.
• Thai grille fish (pla pao) is delicious with both sticky rice and white rice, and lots of seafood sauce!
• Peel about 15 cloves of garlic and grab about 20 Thai bird chilies (prik kee noo suan พริกขี้หนูสวน). Normal Thai chilies will work too. Pound ½ teaspoon of salt, the garlic, and chilies using a mortar and pestle. Doesn't need to be super fine, but make sure there are no big chunks.
• In a bowl, add the pounded garlic and chilies, 6 tablespoons of fresh squeezed lime juice, 3 tablespoons of water, 2.5 tablespoons of fish sauce, and 1 tablespoon of sugar. Mix everything together until the sugar is dissolved.
• Taste the seafood sauce. Really, it's up to you how it tastes, but you want it to be slightly salty, sour, and slightly sweet.
• If you need to add a little more of anything, go for it!

SALT CRUSTED WHOLE FISH

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, trimmed to extend 3-inches in diameter around outside of the fish.
• In a medium bowl, combine the egg whites, sea salt, flour, 2 tablespoons of the parsley and 1/2 cup of water. Mix with your hands until a thick paste forms.
• Fill the cavity of the fish with the sun-dried tomatoes, olives, artichoke hearts and lemon slices.
• Rub the exterior of the fish with the garlic, then sprinkle with the remaining 1 tablespoon of parsley and freshly ground black pepper.
• Put the fish on the parchment lined baking sheet. Mound the salt paste evenly over the entire fish.
• Press the mixture firmly down to the baking sheet, being careful to seal any cracks.
• Bake the fish until the crust is golden brown and very firm, about 18 to 20 minutes.
• Slide the parchment and fish onto serving platter or cutting board and crack the crust with a handle of a large knife.
• Slide a spoon under the top fillet, over the spine, and lift it to a serving platter.
• Turn over and repeat.
• Garnish with lemon slices and serve immediately.