Whole Red Snapper in Szechuan Hot Sauce

Peter Pan's Note:

My Mom would prepare this dish using the whole fish. I prefer fillets. Adjust the amount of hot bean sauce to fit your guest taste.

• Total Time: 35 mins
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 15 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 2

• 2 (8 ounce) red snapper fillets (or whole red snapper)
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon dry white wine
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 garlic cloves , minced
• 3 stalks green onions , finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon fresh ginger , finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons chili bean sauce
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar
• ½ cup water
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• ½ teaspoon sesame oil (optional)

Directions:

1. Rub the fish with soy sauce and dry wine mixture.
2. Let the fish fillets marinated in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes.
3. Heat oil in a large skillet, saute the fish fillets for about 3 minutes on each side.
4. Remove the fillets, add garlic, green onion, ginger, chili bean sauce, tomato paste, sugar, vinegar and water.
5. Bring the mixture to a boil before adding the fish fillets back to the skillet.
6. Braise the fish in the sauce for about 4 to 5 minutes.
7. Mix the cornstarch with 2 tsp of water, stir in the sauce and cook for another minute.
8. Sprinkle with sesame oil (optional) and serve immediately with steamed rice and your favorite steamed vegetables.

Reviews

[yogi]

This sauce is excellent on fish! Lots of flavor, and I just love the spicy zing!!! I added some more soy sauce (maybe 2-3 T?) in step 4 to cut the tomato taste a bit and give it that Oriental flavor I'm used to. Just my own preference. I also substituted tilapia fillets, which worked out nicely. I'm keeping my eyes open for a sale on those snapper fillets, though!

[EppiRN]

This sauce was very tasty. My bean sauce was oriental "black bean garlic sauce". Did add a little more sugar than called for (to taste) as the vinegar was quite strong. I think overall though, will use a different fish type next time. Snapper tends to be very fishy in flavor, which I thought would be cut by the sauce, but it wasn't. Will use recipe again with sole, tillapia or mahi-mahi next time.

[Chef #1121056]

Brilliant. Did not use the chilli bean and roasted the whole snapper in the oven for 30 mins. We then added the sauce with fish for 5 min more mins in the oven and it turned out wonderfully.