While the sauce is flavorful, you still want to salt the fish prior to frying to ensure that the innermost portions of the flesh do not turn out bland.Coating the fish with a little starch makes the skin crispier. The starch also helps prevent oil spatter.
Rub the herb salt all over the fish including the slits and cavity.
Place the fish in a covered container and keep in the fridge for at least half an hour.
Make the sauce
In a small sauce pan, stir all the ingredients for the sauce with a quarter cup of water.
Set the pan over high heat and allow the mixture to boil.
Turn down the heat to medium-low and cook the sauce, uncovered, until reduced by half. Set aside. The sauce thickens some more as it cools.
Fry the fish
Sprinkle the starch on both sides of the fish.
Set a frying pan large enough to hold the fish on the stove and set the heat to high. Pour in enough cooking oil to reach a depth of at least three inches.
When you see fine wisps of smoke floating on the surface of the oil, slide in the starched fish. Keeping the heat on high, cook the fish for six minutes. Flip to cook the opposite side for another four minutes.
Assemble the dish
Scoop out the fish (a kitchen spider is useful) and lay on a serving plate.
Pour enough of the sticky sweet sour lemon sauce over the hot fish so that a little pool forms around it.