Do You Smell Something Fishy
One of the most excellent treatments that could be accorded to fish is to submerge it completely into a vat of hot, golden oil, a process which miraculously elevates the fins and bones from being an unavoidable and messy nuisance to a crisp, crunchy component of the sweet flesh. However, Malay cuisine suffers from an over-reliance on the deep frying method, and there is a real danger that in the years to come this overdependence will manifest into a major health battle which has now become a daily reality in countries such as the United States and Australia. My current favourite dish is sweet and sour fish, which I know is perfect when deep-fried. We wanted to test whether a similar result could be obtained by grilling it in the oven. This would not only be a much healthier alternative, it would also provide a welcome respite from the splashes of hot fat bursting angrily from the wok. We found that it was quite difficult to turn the fish over halfway through grilling without tearing the skin and breaking the flesh apart, because while the top part of the fish is firm and charred from the overhead grill, the bottom side is soft due to the natural fat of the fish dropping off from it. Therefore, we placed the fish onto the platter as it was from the oven; the charred part would remain as the top side. Onto this is poured the sweet and sour sauce; a blend of Thai sweet chilli sauce, vinegar, sugar, salt and lots of aromatics like shallots and garlic, lightly sautéed in oil to release the unmistakable fragrance that never fails to whet my appetite.
