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Seafood Lunch / Dinner Main Courses

Chinese-style fish fillet with lemon sauce

Published: 04.01.2023 » Last updated: 04.09.2023

Swordfish belly fillets are thinly sliced, seasoned, coated with batter, deep fried then tossed with a syrupy sauce made with fresh lemon juice, sugar, chili flakes, grated ginger, turmeric and kaffir lime leaves.

Chinese-style fish fillet with lemon sauce garnished with scallions, mint and lemon slices

In newsletter #19, I mentioned Stephen Yan (no, not Martin Yan) and his cooking show called Wok with Yan that I enjoyed decades ago.

One of the best lessons from the show is how to stretch a small amount of meat to feed more people than usual. I applied the technique with fish. I had thawed 300 grams of swordfish belly fillets, there were three of us for lunch and I had to make sure that there would be more than enough for everyone.

My solution consists of two parts. Cut the fish into thin slices, cook the slices then toss in a highly flavorful sauce. Let me illustrate.

Sliced swordfish belly fillets with lemon pepper seasoning

I took the still semi-frozen fillets, cut them into slices (it’s easier to cut them thinly while semi-frozen) about a quarter inch thick, pressed the slices between sheets of paper towels, and tossed them with lemon pepper seasoning. I set the fish aside to give it time to soak up the seasonings while I cooked my lemon sauce.

Making lemon sauce with lemon juice, sugar, turmeric, chili flakes, kaffir lime leaves, grated ginger and salt

I melted sugar in a combination of freshly squeezed lemon juice and water, added grated lemon zest and ginger, turmeric, chili flakes, thin slices of kaffir lime leaves and a few pinches of salt. I let the mixture boil gently until syrupy then set it aside to thicken as it cooled.

Tossing fish in batter before deep frying

I added an egg white and cornstarch to the fish, tossed everything until a light batter coated each slice then dropped the battered fish slices one by one into a pan of hot oil.

The crispy fish slices were piled on a deep plate and the sauce was drizzled over them. To add even more brightness to the dish, sliced scallions and torn mint leaves were sprinkled over the fish.

Chinese-style fish fillet with lemon sauce

Connie Veneracion
How to make lunch for three people with only 300 grams of fish fillets? Slice them, batter them, deep fry them then serve them with a sticky, syrupy and citrusy sweet sour sauce.
Swordfish belly fillets are used here but feel free to substitute any firm and fleshy fish.
Chinese-style fish fillet with lemon sauce garnished with scallions, mint and lemon slices
Print Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes mins
Cook Time 15 minutes mins
Total Time 25 minutes mins
Course Main Course
Cuisine Asian
Servings 3 people

Ingredients
  

  • 300 grams fish fillets - cut into ¼-inch slices
  • 1 teaspoon lemon pepper seasoning - store bought

Lemon sauce

  • ¼ cup lemon juice
  • â…“ cup white sugar
  • ½ teaspoon grated lemon zest
  • ¼ teaspoon grated ginger
  • 2 pinches salt
  • ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
  • ½ teaspoon chili flakes
  • 1 pair kaffir lime leaves - thinly sliced (ribs discarded)

To fry the fish

  • cooking oil - for deep frying
  • 1 egg white
  • ¼ cup cornstarch

To serve

  • sliced scallions
  • mint leaves - torn into small pieces
  • lemon slices

Instructions
 

Season the fish

  • Press the fish slices between stacks of kitchen paper to remove excess water.
  • Place the fish in a bowl, add the lemon pepper seasoning and toss well.

Cook the lemon sauce

  • In a small sauce pan, melt the sugar with the lemon juice and a quarter cup of water.
  • Add the lemon zest, ginger, salt, turmeric, chili flakes and kaffir lime leaves.
  • Boil over medium heat for about five minutes until reduced by half.
  • Taste, add more lemon juice or salt, or both, then set aside to cool.

Fry the fish

  • In a wok or frying pan, heat enough cooking to reach a depth of at least three inches.
  • Pour the egg white over the seasoned fish, add the cornstarch, toss until a light batter forms and coats each slice of fish.
  • Drop the battered fish fillets one by one into the hot oil.
  • Cook until a crisp crust forms on the surface of the fish slices (see notes).
  • Scoop out with a kitchen spider, tap gently over the pan to allow excess oil to drip off and transfer the fish to a shallow bowl or deep plate.

Assemble the dish

  • Drizzle the lemon sauce over the dish.
  • Sprinkle in the scallions and mint leaves.
  • Arrange lemon slices on the side.
  • Serve with rice.

Notes

If the fish slices stick to each other during the first few minutes of frying, use kitchen tongs or chopsticks to gently pry them apart without tearing the coating.
Print Pin Recipe
Keyword Fish fillets, Lemon Sauce

If you’re a serious fan of fish with sweet-sour citrusy sauce, see two other recipes in the archive.

Salmon katsu piccata over rice

Salmon katsu piccata

Fried whole fish with lemon sauce garnished with mint leaves

Fried whole fish with lemon sauce

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Connie Veneracion, Chiang Mai, 2020

Hi, I’m Connie!

Welcome to Umami Days, a blog that advocates innovative home cooking for pleasurable everyday dining. No trendy diets, no food fads and definitely no ludicrous recipe names like crustless quiche, noodleless pho or chocolate lasagna.

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