BBQ snapper with tomato tamarind sauce

Struggling to cook whole fish? Minoli de Silva, Masterchef contestant is here to help demystify the jump from cooking fish fillets to cooking the whole fish– saving you money at the fishmongers and adding extra flavour to your plate!

Credit: Jiwon Kim

• serves

  4

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  35 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Stream free On Demand

The Whole Fish

episode • The Cook Up with Adam Liaw • 

cooking • 

25m

G

episode • The Cook Up with Adam Liaw • 

cooking • 

25m

G

Ingredients

• 1.5 kg whole snapper, cleaned
• 5 cm x 4 cm piece ginger, thinly sliced
• 5 garlic cloves
• 1 lemongrass stem, bruised
• 1 small bunch coriander roots
• Salt
• Banana leaves, for wrapping
• Thinly sliced red onion, lime cheeks, coriander leaves, thinly sliced red chilli, to serve

For the sauce

• 100 ml coconut oil
• 2 tsp cumin seeds
• 50 g garlic, finely chopped
• 50 g ginger, finely chopped
• 2 sprigs fresh curry leaves
• 1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
• 4 makrut lime leaves
• 300 g tomatoes, peeled and puréed (see Note)
• 60 g tamarind concentrate
• 2 tbsp finely chopped coriander root
• 50 g fish stock
• Lime juice, kithul treacle (see Note), salt, to taste

Instructions

1. Heat a barbecue over medium-high heat. Stuff the cavity of the fish with the ginger, garlic cloves, lemongrass and coriander roots. Season the fish well with salt.
   
2. On a clean working surface, lay out a large piece of foil and add a layer of banana leaves out and place the fish in the centre. Use the leaves to wrap the fish, then enclose the parcel with the foil. Barbecue for 30 – 35 minutes, or until cooked through.
   
3. To make the sauce, melt the coconut oil in a large frying pan or a wok. Add the cumin seeds and cook for 30 seconds. Add the finely chopped garlic and ginger and stir-fry until lightly golden. Stir through the curry leaves, chilli powder and lime leaves.
   
4. Stir through the crushed tomatoes, tamarind concentrate, coriander roots and fish stock. Season to taste with lime juice, treacle and salt.
   
5. Remove the fish from the grill or barbecue, unwrap, then transfer the snapper to a large serving platter. Sprinkle with thinly sliced red onion, coriander leaves and chilli. Serve with the lime cheeks and the tomato tamarind sauce on the side.

Note

• Kithul treacle is a special unrefined sugar from Sri Lanka. You can use the barbecue or chargrill pan to grill the tomatoes and remove their skins. A mortar and pestle are best for pounding the tomatoes into a purée.

Photography by Jiwon Kim.

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Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.

Stream free On Demand

The Whole Fish

episode • The Cook Up with Adam Liaw • 

cooking • 

25m

G

episode • The Cook Up with Adam Liaw • 

cooking • 

25m

G