During the first spurt of our first walking/jogging activities, my hubby and I have been thinking up new dishes to do to complement our healthier lifestyle. Of course, our “healthy” shopping spree was not complete without fish. But now, a couple of fish have been lying in our freezer for a bit. I’ve been thinking about having them for dinner for the past few days but I couldn’t decide what to do with them. We haven’t had fish in a long time and I wanted to do something other than fry it. I remembered the last time I made meatballs, my hubby suggested I make it the sweet & sour way. So why not with fish?
This recipe calls for a lot of carrots and a lot of sauce. I’m not really that fond of carrots but somehow I just love them in sweet-sour dishes. I also like to top my rice with lots of sauce, thus the quantities below. Otherwise, you can halve the sauce proportions.
2 medium-sized fish
1 small cake of tofu, cubed
cooking oil
To season the fish:
1 T ginger, julienned
1 T garlic, crushed
salt
For the sauce:
1 T garlic, julienned
1 t ginger, julienned
1 tomato, sliced to strips
1 large carrot, julienned
1 onion, sliced into strips
1/2 red bell pepper, sliced into strips
3 T strong vinegar
5 1/2 T light brown sugar
1 T concentrated tomato paste
1 t salt
1 t sweet chili sauce
1 T cornstarch
1 C water
1/8 t sesame oil
1) Score and rub fish with seasoning. Let stand for at least an hour.
2) Fry tofu and fish separately. Arrange fish and tofu in a bowl and set aside.
3) For sauce, saute garlic until light brown. Add ginger.
4) Add tomatoes and saute until they’re limp and mushy.
5) Saute carrots. Add bell pepper. Make sure not to overcook the veggies. You’d want them to be done but with still a bit of crunch in them.
6) Mix the remaining ingredients in a bowl, making sure that the cornstarch is well dissolved. Add mixture to the veggies. Stir constantly until the sauce is thick and the liquid is clear. Remove from fire.
7) Top fish and tofu with sauce and serve while hot.
