Ok… I know it is Saturday here but some of you are on different timelines to me …so I think I can still sneak this in as Fish Friday…

Doesn’t that look amazing and I had so many requests for the recipe… It is also far easier than it looks and doesn’t it look impressive…

Mainly I can get sea bass/bream or locally caught fish here but this recipe can be adapted to whatever fish you can get regionally where you live like rainbow trout, Tilapia.

Ingredients: 

• 1 or 2 whole sea bass, sea bream fresh or frozen or fish of your choice.
• 1 handful fresh coriander
• 1 handful fresh Thai basil
• For the Sauce:
• 1/4 cup oyster sauce
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 8 to 10 cloves garlic, minced or finely chopped
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1 tbsp freshly squeezed lime or lemon juice
• To garnish julienne very finely a large piece of fresh ginger ( sometimes I also add some garlic.
• Shredded kale for garnish.

Let’s Cook!

Preheat oven to 375 F  or fire up the BBQ…..Here I use a kettle BBQ and cook the fish on a banana leaf.

Stir all sauce ingredients together in a bowl. Set to one side.

Place fish on a cutting board and score it by making vertical cuts an inch or more apart along the length of fish from head to tail. Turn fish over and do the same on the other side.

Place fish on a large piece of aluminium foil or banana leaf. Make sure the foil or leaf is big enough to cover and wrap the fish.

Drizzle 3 tablespoons (or more) of the sauce over the fish, covering both sides. Be sure to spoon some into the cuts you’ve made, as well as into the underside cavity. Reserve the rest for later.

Bring the long sides of the foil up and over the fish, scrunching it together. Try to keep the foil off the surface of the fish, making a kind of shallow tent over it. Fold up each end and scrunch to secure. If using banana leaf, fold the sides and ends up and over the fish to cover it. With banana leaf, you actually want the leaf to come into contact with the fish, as this adds to the flavour.

Bake the fish in the foil directly on your oven rack.

My fish is now going on to the BBQ…

N.B. If you are using banana leaf and oven cooking you will require a dish or tray, as a banana leaf is porous.

Bake for 20 minutes or longer, depending on the size and thickness of your fish. Remove fish from oven and check some of the deeper cuts to see if the inner flesh is cooked (it should be opaque, not pink or translucent-looking). If fish still needs more time, return to your oven for another 8 to 10 minutes, or until cooked.

Next remove the fish from the oven or your BBQ open up the foil, scrunching it around the fish to create a kind of bowl. If using banana leaf, simply open up the leaf, which will have become drier and slightly crispy.

Pour remaining sauce over fish and return to the oven. Turn oven to broil setting, and grill for 5 to 8 minutes, or until the fish is nicely browned and crisp-looking.

Meanwhile, crisp your julienned ginger in hot oil and drain on kitchen paper. Then quickly crisp your kale and drain on kitchen paper.

Remove from the oven and sprinkle the fish with the crispy kale and ginger…Just pile it on.

If I am cooking my fish on the BBQ I serve the leftover sauce in a small bowl.

Enjoy!

N.B. My grandson poised to dive in…lol

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