SAIKAP 3 RASA / 3 TASTE SEABASS

One of the great Chinese and Thai restaurant dishes is a whole fish crispy-fried and then served with sweet-and-sour sauce. It is a dramatic presentation and the combination of sweet-sour-hot-savory can't be beat. I developed this easy-to-make home recipe and it is as good as any restaurant version. I get the sweet and sour taste from the pineapple..it's marvellous..and for you who love something hot then add some bird's eyes chili..it creat wonders. This dish is best serve as main dish with rice and other dishes.

Siakap 3 Rasa/3 Taste Seabass

1 seabass - clean and ried

3 chopped green onions

A 1-inch piece of finely chopped, peeled ginger

5 clove garlic - chopped

1 cup finely chopped pineapple

5 T. water

5 T. tomato sauce or catsup

3 T. sugar

1 T. vinegar

3 tbsp chili paste

1 T. soy sauce

1 1/2 t. corn starch

1 T finely chopped cilantro

1 T. finely chopped green onions or chives

4 cups peanut or vegetable oil

2 cups flour for dredging

Preparation:

Prepare the fish. Cut off the fins of each fish with kitchen shears or scissors. Remove the gills of the fish if they are still attached by cutting them out with the kitchen shears. Make three vertical slices along each side of the fish evenly spaced along its length. If you have a long fish, make four slices. Rinse the fish under cold water and pat dry.

Dredge the fish in flour. Shake off excess, and when the oil is at hot, slip the fish one at a time into the oil. You are probably going to have to cook one fish at time. If so, turn the oven on to "warm."

Prepare the vegetables. Julienne the 3-inch piece of ginger. Keep in mind 3 inches is a guideline, so the ginger can be a bit larger or smaller. Cut the ginger into a rectangle, then slice it into thin rectangles about 1/8 inch thick. Then slice these thin rectangles into very thin strips -- as thin as you can make them.

Slice the 1/2 onion into very thin half-moons.

Slice the garlic cloves as thinly as you can along the long side of the clove to make long pieces.

Heat up oil saute ginger and garlic, add in the chili paste and saute until fragrant

Make the sauce. Mix the tomato sauce -- I use pureed tomatoes -- sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, water chopped pineapple and corn starch and stir vigorously to combine. Set it aside.

To serve, pour some sauce on a plate, place the fish on top of it and garnish with the finely chopped chives and cilantro. This dish goes best with simple steamed white rice.

Cook's Note - If you love fiery hot sauce then you can add slice bird's eyes chili during sauting

Musim-musim begini anak-anak selalu suka lauk yang panas-panas dan segera....punya..so saya buat ini ikan 3 rasa yang cukup popular dimana-mana restuarant Cina atau Thai. Ikan Siakap sekarang ni murah dan saya memang suka ikan siakap sebab isinya yang lembut. Untuk menambahkan keenakan pada rasa masam dan manisnya saya masukkan nenas cincang...memang sedap. Menu ini sesuailah dijadikan menu utama makan bersama nasi.

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