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Sweet sour fish fillets

06.04.2022 (Updated: 01.12.2024) in Lunch / Dinner, Main Courses

Tilapia fillets are cut into cubes, seasoned, tossed in starch, deep fried and tossed in sweet sour sauce with ginger, garlic, scallions, bell pepper and fresh pineapple.

Sweet and sour tilapia fillets with bell pepper, pineapple and scallions

My husband’s comfort food. Well, one of many. I had half a kilogram of cubed fish fillets marinating in the fridge and when I threw out the question to no one in particular as to how I should cook the fish, I received two answers. My husband wanted sweet sour fish; my younger daughter wanted it cooked a la lemon chicken.

We didn’t have complete ingredients for either dish, it turned out. But my husband was willing to go out and buy the bell peppers, pineapple and scallions that the sweet and sour fish needed. He won. Fried fish fillets with lemon sauce will have to wait.

What fish is good for this dish? Any firm fleshy fish. Tilapia is especially good. Skin-on, preferably, because the skin turns crisp like crackling during frying and that adds another layer of texture to this alreay texture-rich dish.

Fish fillet: cubes, seasoned, floured and fried

The tilapia fillets are cut into bite-size pieces, tossed with herb salt and left to marinate in the fridge. If you don’t have herb salt, a combination of salt and pepper will work too. Just don’t skip the step of seasoning and marinating the fish. The sweet sour sauce will flavor the surface but not the innermost part of the fish.

The marinated fish fillets are tossed in a mixture of flour and corn starch, and deep fried in batches. The fried fish fillets rest in a strainer while the rest of the components of the dish are prepared.

Sauteeing ginger, garloc, scallions and bell peppers

The lower portions of the scallions — the white and light green portions — are sauteed with ginger, garlic and diced bell pepper. The pineapple is not included in this step because it would have expelled juice and that’s something that I want to happen only during the last stage of cooking.

Steps in making sweet sour sauce: caramelizing sugar in vinegar, adding plum sauce, tomato paste and oyster sauce

To make the sweet sour sauce, I melt sugar in rice vinegar and let the mixture boil until syrupy. For a fruity flavor, I add plum sauce. To give the sweet sour sauce it’s signature reddish color, a little tomato paste is stirred in. For a final touch, a little oyster sauce and a drizzle of sesame seed oil.

Tossing fried fish fillets in sweet sour sauce

When the sauce is ready, the sauteed vegetables, pineapple and fish fish fillets are added. Everything is tossed together until the every piece of solid ingredient is coated with the sticky glossy sauce.

Sweet sour fish garnished with scallions

The dark green portion of the scallions, thinly sliced, are sprinkled in before the sweet sour fish fillets are transferred to a serving bowl.

Sweet and sour fish fillets with bell pepper, pineapple and scallions
Sweet sour fish fillets
Connie Veneracion
For the sauteeing part, although garlic and ginger are indispensable, the scallions may be replaced by thinly sliced shallots.
If you prefer more vegetables in the dish, thinly sliced carrot and sweet peas may be added.
Prep Time 10 minutes mins
Cook Time 15 minutes mins
Marinating time 30 minutes mins
Total Time 55 minutes mins
Course Main Course
Cuisine Asian
Servings 4 people

Ingredients
  

Fish

  • 500 grams tilapia filllets or frillets from other firm fleshy fish
  • 1 teaspoon herb salt or substitute ¾ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper
  • cooking oil for deep frying
  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons corn starch

Spices and vegetables

  • 2 tablespoons cooking oil
  • 2 cloves garlic peeled and chopped
  • 1 half-inch knob ginger peeled and chopped
  • 1 bell pepper cored, deseeded and diced
  • 2 to 3 stalks scallions (white and light green portions only) thinly sliced
  • ¾ cup fresh pineapple chunks

Sweet sour sauce

  • ⅓ cup white sugar
  • ¼ cup rice vinegar
  • 2 pinches salt
  • 2 tablespoons plum sauce (available in Asian groceries)
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
  • ½ teaspoon sesame seed oil

To garnish

  • 2 to 3 stalks scallions (dark green portion only) thinly sliced

Instructions
 

  • Wipe the fish dry with paper towels and cut into bite-size pieces.
  • Place the fish in a bowl, add the herb salt (or salt and pepper) and toss thoroughly.
  • Cover the bowl and marinate the fish in the fridge for a minimum of half an hour.
  • In a wok or frying pan, start heating enough cooking oil to reach a depth of at least two inches.
  • Toss the fish with the flour and starch, and shake each piece to let any excess fall off.
  • Deep fry the fish fillets in batches until lightly golden and crisp on the outside.
  • Place the fried fish in a strainer or spread on a rack.
  • Heat two tablespoons cooking oil in a pan and saute the scallions, ginger, garlic and bell peppers.
  • Scoop out and move to a plate.
  • In the same pan with traces of a now flavorful oil, pour in the sugar and rice vinegar.
  • Boil until the mixture reaches the consistency of a thin syrup.
  • Stir in the plum sauce, tomato paste, oyster sauce and sesame seed oil.
  • Cook, stirring, until thickened.
  • Add the sauteed vegetables, pineapple chunks and fried fish fillets to the sweet sour sauce.
  • Toss until everything is coated with sauce.
  • Sprinkle in the scallions and serve.
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Connie Veneracion, 2020

Hi, I’m Connie!

Home cook and writer by passion, photographer by necessity, and good food, coffee and wine lover forever. I write recipes, cooking tips and food stories. No AI is used in creating content for this blog.

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