Turmeric Fried Fish 黄姜煎鱼

Crispy Nyonya fried fish

This is one of the common deep-fried fish dishes that you can easily find in economic rice (mixed rice) stalls or small eatery shops in Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore. With its crispy and crunchy texture, it is one of the kids’ favourite pick too!

As you can tell from its name, the main spice used in this recipe is turmeric powder which is also one of the most important spices used in curry. This spice is easily available in any Asian grocery shops. Back in Auckland, I could conveniently find it in big chain supermarkets like Pak'nSave, New World, and Countdown at their spices counters.

This recipe may seem simple with only a few ingredients and steps to follow, however it may not be as easy to master as you think, especially on the deep frying part!

The key to fry crispy and crunchy fish is to have the fish fried in HOT oil. If the oil is not hot enough, you may experience:

1.       Fish sticking to the pan/wok problem ruining the presentation

2.       Too much oil absorbed by the fish resulting in soggy, greasy fish.

So, how can we avoid this? How to test whether the oil is hot enough? The following steps are what I usually do to test the temperature of the oil. I use a chop stick or skewer and dip into the centre of the wok. If little bubbles are visible, as shown in the following photo, the oil is hot enough and ready for deep frying. 

Hot oil

 Another phobia that keep cooking novice from attempting to deep fry is the fear of being splashed by hot oil. So, to prevent this from happening, I do the following:

1. Keep the fish DRY – pat dry the fish with paper towel after cleaning and scaling

2. Coat fish with a layer of thin corn flour/flour to further absorb the moist and keep the fish skin in place

3. Slowly slip the fish into the wok from the side, no dropping from high heights and keep a distance away from the stove once the fish is in the wok.

4.  Face out the pan/wok cover to act as shield from possible oil splash once fish is added into the wok/pan.
 

Above are some of the methods I used. However if you are health conscious and not in favour of deep frying but still wish to try the taste of this Nyonya Turmeric fish, you can go for oven grill instead but you may not be able to taste the same crispy texture as in the case of deep frying.

Turmeric Fried Fish 黄姜煎鱼

Turmeric Fried Fish   Ingredients:   250/500g of your favourite fish, use whole or sliced 1 tsp. turmeric powder black or white pepper, powder or crushed (to your preference) salt to taste Corn flour to coat oil for frying   Method 1.       Clean and scale fish, pat dry with paper towel. 2.       Marinade with the salt, turmeric powder and pepper.   3.       Leave it to marinate for at least 1/2 an hour or more if possible. 4.       Coat with a layer of corn flour before frying.     5.       Heat oil in high until hot, slowly dipping the coated fish in to avoid oil splashing on you.   6.       Reduce heat to medium high and fry for 2-3 minutes, keep showering the fish with hot oil till golden brown before turning to cook through for another side for 2-3 more minutes again. 7.       Set fish onto paper towel to absorb any excess fat.   Tips: To enjoy perfectly crispy and crunchy fried fish, other than making sure to fully coat the fish, the following 2 factors are crucial: ·         Oil must be hot ·         Not to stir the fish too frequently     黄姜煎鱼   材料 250/500克　鲭鱼/鱼柳  （根据自己的喜好） 腌料 : 1茶匙 黄姜粉 1/2茶匙 盐 黑或白胡椒粉（根据自己的喜好） 粟粉涂层 适量食用油 1.       先将鱼肉涂上盐和黄姜粉，腌制大约30分钟。 2.       平底锅加热之后放入适量食用油。 3.       接着放入鱼肉煎，慢慢地滑下鱼，以避免油飞溅。 4.       将鱼肉煎至两面成金黄色后，就可上蝶享用了。   温馨提示： 要享用炸得香脆的鱼，确保鱼充分被粟粉覆盖以外，以下重要的2个因素是： 那就是锅热、少翻动.