Quick fried fish with vegetable acar

This fish dish is a prime example of how something well-seasoned can be the star of the show. Given the abundance of fresh fish on the Cocos Islands, it makes sense that salt, turmeric and a little bit of stock powder are all you need. For the full experience, mix up little pieces of fish with rice, acar and cucumber salad and dig in with your hands!

This snapper is fried until crispy, and served with a tangy achar and a fresh cucumber salad. Credit: Tammi Kwok

• serves

  4

• prep

  30 minutes

• cook

  30 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Stream free On Demand

Quick Fried Fish With Vegetable Acar

episode • A Taste Of Island Dreams • 

cooking • 

5m

G

episode • A Taste Of Island Dreams • 

cooking • 

5m

G

Ingredients

• 1 whole medium snapper, cut into cutlets, (see note) 
• 1 tbsp ground turmeric 
• Salt, to taste 
• Vegeta, to taste 
• Vegetable oil, for frying 
• Steamed jasmine rice, to serve  

Acar

• 5 large red chillies 
• 150g red Asian shallots, peeled 
• 2 cm ginger, peeled 
• 2 onion, sliced 
• 2 large carrot, cut into batons 
• 2 telegraph cucumber, cut into batons 
• 1 tbsp turmeric 
• 2-3 tbsp sugar 
• 1 cup white vinegar 

Cucumber salad

• ½ telegraph cucumber, diced into 1 cm pieces 
• 1 tomato, diced into 1 cm pieces  
• 1 red onion, diced into 1 cm pieces 
• 2-3 tbsp kecap manis 
• 1 –2 tbsp white vinegar 

Instructions

1. Make the acar sambal by blending 4 of the red chillies with the shallots and ginger in a blender or food processor. Seed and cut the remaining chilli into batons.
   
2. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large deep frypan over medium heat. Add the sambal and cook, stirring, until fragrant and darkened slightly. Add the onion and continue to fry until the onion has started to soften.
   
3. Add the carrot, cucumber, turmeric, and sugar to the mix. Stirring to combine. Add half the vinegar, then taste and season with salt and vegeta. The acar should be a balance of sour, sweet, and savoury. You can add more vinegar, sugar, and salt to adjust to your liking. The mixture should not be too wet as the cucumber will also release moisture as it cooks.
   
4. Continue to stir-fry the acar over medium heat for another 2-3 minutes until the vegetables have just started to soften but haven’t lost their crunch. Set aside to cool.
   
5. Meanwhile, rinse the fish in some water, and drain, but do not pat dry. The residual moisture will help the seasoning to stick to the fish. In a large bowl, toss the fish in the turmeric, and season well with salt and Vegeta.
   
6. Fill a large deep frypan with about 1.5 cm of oil. Heat over medium-high heat, before frying the fish for 4-5 minutes before flipping it and frying it for another 4-5 minutes. (You might have to do this in batches). Repeat this process again, so the fish is frying for about 8-10 minutes on each side in total. Remove from the heat and drain on a wire rack or paper towels for a few minutes.
   
7. Meanwhile, make the cucumber salad by mixing the ingredients in a small bowl, adjusting the amount of vinegar and kecap manis to taste. It should be a balance of sweet and sour, to complement the deep savoury flavour of the fried fish.
   
8. Serve the fish warm, with steamed rice, acar and cucumber salad on the side.

Notes

• You can buy a whole snapper and ask your fishmonger to separate it into cutlets for you. Be sure to keep the head and tail – they fry up to become the best bits! You can clean the fish with a squeeze of lemon to get rid of any residual smell.

• Traditionally, a meaty fish like Spanish mackerel would be used, but you can use any fresh white fish you prefer, as long as it’s not too large.

This recipe is from A Taste of Island Dreams with Alimah Bilda. Photography by Tammi Kwok.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.

Stream free On Demand

Quick Fried Fish With Vegetable Acar

episode • A Taste Of Island Dreams • 

cooking • 

5m

G

episode • A Taste Of Island Dreams • 

cooking • 

5m

G