The barramundi is fried until crispy, topped with two types of delicious honey and bean sauce, thick and aromatic. If you can’t hold back any longer, let’s get cooking and make this delicious fried dish right away!
1. Crispy Barramundi with Bean Sauce
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Preparation
30 minutes
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Cooking
30 minutes
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Difficulty
Easy
Ingredients for Crispy Barramundi with Bean Sauce Serves 4
Barramundi 1 fish Seasoning a little (salt/ pepper/ sugar) Cornstarch 5 gr Shaoxing Wine 15 ml (Shaoxing wine) Ginger 30 gr Garlic 10 gr Spring onion 50 gr Soft tofu 450 gr Cooking oil 1 liter Spicy bean paste 45 gr (Pixian bean paste) Chicken broth 600 ml Soy sauce 22 ml Fermented soybean sauce 15 ml Rice wine 30 ml
You can buy rice wine from the market or stores; alternatively, to ensure safety, you can make rice wine at home with a recipe from TasteVN.
How to prepare Fried Barramundi with Soybean Sauce
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Prepare the barramundi
After purchasing the barramundi, you need to scale it, cut open the belly, and remove the innards, cleaning the blood along the spine. Then, use lemon slices to gently rub over the fish to remove the sliminess, rinse thoroughly with water, and let it drain. Once the fish is drained, use a knife to make several diagonal cuts on both sides so that the marinade can penetrate evenly.
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Marinate the fish with spices
Sprinkle a little salt and pepper on both the inside and outside of the fish. Next, pour 15ml of Shaoxing wine over the fish and massage it in. Finally, place 10g of sliced ginger and 20g of smashed green onions inside the fish, sprinkle a little more salt and pepper, and marinate for 30 minutes to allow the fish to absorb the flavors.
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Preparing and boiling tofu
Cut the tofu into small bite-sized pieces, soak in water for 15 minutes, then place in a pan and cook quickly over high heat for 3 minutes.
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Preparing other ingredients
Cut the green onions, wash them thoroughly, and cut them into small sections. Peel and wash the ginger and garlic, then slice them.
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Make the sauce
Add a little oil to the pan, when the oil is hot, add the chili bean sauce and stir-fry with green onions, garlic, and ginger until fragrant. Next, add the chicken broth, wait for it to boil again, then add 20ml of soy sauce, 15ml of fermented soybean sauce, 30ml of rice wine, and 1 teaspoon of sugar, then stir the mixture well.
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Add the fish to the sauce
First, add the fish to the sauce, keep the heat medium, and simmer for 10 minutes. Once the fish is absorbed with the sauce, remove the fish, add the boiled tofu, and simmer for another 3 minutes.
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Completion
The fish is crispy and golden, now you just need to drizzle the fragrant sauce over it, and the dish is ready!
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Final Product
The fish is fried until golden and crispy, with tender and firm flesh inside that is very flavorful. The sauce outside is aromatic, slightly spicy, rich, and smooth, while the tofu is rich and fragrant. The dish combines harmoniously, and eating it with hot rice is simply unbeatable.
2. Fried Barramundi with Honey Sauce
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Preparation
30 minutes
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Cooking
30 minutes
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Difficulty
Easy
Ingredients for Fried Barramundi with Honey Sauce Serves 4
Barramundi 1 fish All-purpose flour 200 gr Cornstarch 160 gr Salt 2 teaspoons Egg 1 Cooking oil 1 liter Onion 20 gr Spring onion 20 gr Ketchup 20 gr Shrimp 50 gr Apple cider vinegar 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine 10 ml (Shaoxing wine) Haw Flakes 5 gr (Haw Flakes) Sugar 2 teaspoons Honey 1 tablespoon
What is Thiệu Hưng Wine?
- Thiệu Hưng wine (Shaoxing wine) is one of the famous traditional wines of China, made from fermented rice. The wine originates from the Thiệu Hưng region, located in Zhejiang province, eastern China.
- The locals here widely use the wine as a beverage and it is very popular in cuisine. Thiệu Hưng wine is available everywhere, especially in Taiwan and Southeast Asian countries.
What is Haw Candy?
- Haw candy (also known as Haw Flakes) is made from hawthorn fruit, originating from China.
- Haw candy is processed into thin, round candy pieces and packaged in blocks, with red paper wrapping that makes the candy look like a firecracker.
How to Prepare Fried Barramundi with Honey Sauce
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Prepare the Barramundi
To clean the barramundi, you scale it, gut it, and remove the internal organs, cleaning the blood along the back. Then, use sliced lemon to gently rub over the fish to remove the slime. Additionally, you can use water mixed with wine or vinegar to eliminate the fishy smell, then rinse it 2-3 times with clean water and let it drain.
Once the fish is drained, use a knife to gently score the back and turn the knife sideways to make a light cut to create grooves, helping the fish absorb the flour and become crispier when fried.
Tip:- To save time, you can buy pre-prepared fish at reputable supermarkets or grocery stores.
- Make sure to clean the blood along the back of the fish to reduce the fishy smell.
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Prepare other ingredients
You peel the onion, wash it thoroughly, and chop it finely. Cut the roots off the green onions, wash them, and then cut them into sections. Peel the shrimp, wash them, remove the intestinal vein, and cut them into small pieces.
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Mix the flour mixture
You put 200g of wheat flour, 150g of corn flour, 1 egg, 1 teaspoon of salt into a large bowl along with 500ml of water and mix the mixture well. Remember to stir continuously to ensure the flour is smooth and not lumpy!
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Dip the fish in the flour mixture
You dip the fish in the flour mixture, hold the tail of the fish, and dip both sides several times to ensure the flour adheres evenly to the fish meat, making it crispier when fried.
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Fried Fish
You pour oil into the pan, when the oil is hot, hold the tail of the fish, slowly dip the fish into the pan, flipping both sides over high heat. Then, completely drop the fish into the pan and fry on low heat for 3 minutes.
Remove the fish, let it rest for 1 minute, then increase the heat of the oil pan again and put the fish back in to fry for another 2 minutes for the fish to be evenly cooked inside with a crispy skin outside.
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Making the Sauce
First, dissolve 10g of cornstarch in 20ml of water.
Add 1 tablespoon of oil to the pan, when the oil is hot, add onion, ketchup, and green onion, stir-fry with 10ml of Shaoxing wine. Then, add 300ml of water and stir-fry together, next, add 5g of Haw candy, 1 teaspoon of salt, 2 teaspoons of sugar, and 1 tablespoon of honey, and stir until the sauce is fragrant.
After 2 minutes of cooking, remove all the ingredients and keep only the sauce. Then, add shrimp and apple cider vinegar and cook for 2 minutes over medium heat until the shrimp is cooked. Finally, add the dissolved cornstarch and cook for another 2 minutes until the mixture thickens.
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Completion
You place the fish on a plate, drizzle the sauce over it, add a bit of cilantro, and it’s ready to enjoy.
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Final Product
The fried barramundi is crispy with sweet, tender flesh inside, a fragrant and rich batter, served with a strong honey sauce that is simply unbeatable.
How to choose delicious barramundi
- For whole fish, you should choose healthy ones that move actively. Delicious barramundi usually has a slightly larger head and a pointed snout.
- You should also pay attention to choosing fish with intact dorsal and tail fins. Good fish has a round tail, gray body, and naturally silver belly.
- For fillets, choose pieces that have a light pink color, not too dark or too pale. The flesh should be firm and especially should not be leaking or have a foul smell.
Tips for cleaning barramundi without a fishy smell
- After purchasing barramundi, scale it, gut it, and remove the internal organs, gently rub lemon on the fish’s surface to clean off the slime, and rinse immediately with water. Do not rub the lemon for too long as it will cook the fish’s skin.
- If you don’t have lemon, you can rub with salt or wash the fish with cold water mixed with a little alcohol or vinegar.
- You should clean the blood along the fish’s spine to reduce the fishy smell.
- Continue to rinse the fish with clean water once more, then place it in a colander to drain.
- Additionally, you can also buy pre-prepared fish at supermarkets or reputable food stores to save time.
Just a little time and effort, you can make 2 delicious fried barramundi dishes for your family meal. Wishing you success!
*Image and recipe source from the YouTube channel Taste Show
