SAWCLicious Recipe: Sweet and Sour Fish

Last Sunday, I had some friends over at my place for brunch. A few of my friends only ate vegetable and fish and as such I planned for a menu that almost had no meat. So what did I prepare? I had stewed mung beans with salted fish soup and chicken lettuce wrap as starters and maja blanca for dessert. As for the main dish, I had squid with black beans, brocolli and tofu, and sweet and sour fish. Today, I'm sharing the recipe for sweet and sour fish. 

Being the obsessive-compulsive me, this is one of the recipes that I personally don't like to prepare. Although it is a fairly easy recipe, it is quite cumbersome to clean the pans and especially to clean the kitchen after deep-frying the fish. Nevertheless, it was worth it after seeing the satisfaction from my friend's faces.

It was also my first-time to cook sweet and sour fish. I would say the only thing I needed to improve is to ensure I don't forget to put the cooked fish in the oven so that it stays crunchy and warm before serving. 

Sweet and Sour Fish

Ingredients
For the breading...

• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 cup of all-purpose flour
• 1 cup of water
• Salt and pepper

For the sauce...

• 1/3 to 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1/4 cup white vinegar
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup pineapple juice (juice extracts from the canned pineapples)
• 1/4 cup orange juice

To combine all other ingredients together...

• 4 pcs. sole fillet
• 2 pcs. white onion quartered
• 1 pc. red bell pepper diced
• 1 pc. green bell pepper diced
• Small can of pineapple chunks 
• 2 tbsp. of peanut oil
• 2 tbsp. cornstarch dissolved in 1/8 cup of water

Procedure

1. Pat the sole fillet with dry paper towel to absorb excess water. Then, slice the sole fillet into chunks of around 1.5 by 1.5 inch. Place in a bowl and toss 1/4 cup of cornstarch enough to coat the fish. In another bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, water, salt, and pepper. Be generous with your salt and pepper.
2. Heat a pan for deep frying and add oil. Maintain pan in a medium-high heat. Start frying the fish by coating in the flour mixture and putting into the pan. Fry the fishes until golden brown and not more than 1-2 minutes on each side. Make sure you fry in batches. Do not overcrowd the pan. Once cooked, drain the fish in paper towel and set aside.
3. Combine all ingredients of the sauce into a bowl. Heat a wok in high heat and add the peanut oil. Saute onion, red bell pepper, green bell pepper, and pineapple chunks. Add the sauce and once it starts to boil add the cornstarch. Toss the fish once the sauce thickens.

I'll share the recipes for my chicken lettuce wrap, maja blanca and squid with black beans in my next posts, so stay tuned!