Deep-fried whole snapper with ginger and lime fish sauce recipe ( ca chien)

Created by Luke Nguyen

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Cuisine: Vietnamese
Serves 2

Ingredients

300–500g whole snapper, cleaned
1 egg white
2 tbsp potato starch
Vegetable oil, to deep-fry
1 small green papaya or 1 large green mango*, finely shredded
¼ Lebanese cucumber, sliced
3 cherry tomatoes, quartered

Ginger and lime fish sauce (nuoc mam gung)
100ml nuoc cham
½ lime, juiced
2 tsp finely chopped ginger
1 tsp finely chopped pickled red chilli*

Spring onion oil (mo hanh)
250ml (1 cup) vegetable oil
8 spring onions, green part only, thinly sliced

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Preparation

To make sauce, combine all the ingredients in a bowl. Makes 125ml (½ cup).

To make onion oil, place oil and onions in a small pan over medium heat. When onions start to simmer, remove from heat and cool. Makes 250ml (1 cup).

Wash and dry fish. Score each side 3 times diagonally; don’t cut through the bone.

To make batter, place egg white and potato starch in a large bowl and whisk to combine.

Fill a large wok or deep-fryer one-third full with oil. Heat over high heat to 180°C (or until a cube of bread turns golden in 10 seconds). Coat fish in batter, wipe off excess, then slide into oil. Cook for 5 minutes, turning halfway, or until skin is crisp and fish is just cooked.

Combine green papaya, cucumber and tomatoes with 80ml (1/3 cup) sauce and 1 tbsp onion oil. Refrigerate remaining sauce and oil in airtight containers for up to 1 week.

Top fish with salad and serve immediately.

* Green papaya, green mango and pickled red chilli are available from Asian food shops.

Drink 2009 Salomon Undhof Wieden Grüner Veltliner or Tiger beer

Photography by Alan Benson.

If you enjoyed this Deep-fried whole snapper with ginger and lime fish sauce recipe ( ca chien) then browse more Vietnamese recipes, seafood recipes, easy recipes, quick recipes and our most popular hainanese chicken rice recipe.

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