Bean Paste Fish with Mango
Welcome back, lovely, luscious and mouth watering mangoes; it's the mango season again! My love affair with mangoes started when I was at a very young age. I was at a close friend's house and she had this big mango tree right in her garden with all those green and ripe mangoes straining from their branches. As a guest in her territory, I dared not climb to pluck them and I could only stare at them, salivating. It was a different story back at home though. The front and back gardens of my house in Penang then were like a mini orchard with rose apple (jambu air), guava, pomelo, starfruit, lime and banana trees and I would often scout them out to see if the fruits were ripe and delighted myself in harvesting them. The rose apple and guava trees suffered most of my presence for they were the ones that I was only able to climb and I would pluck their fruits and enjoy myself with eating and watching the passers by from my perch on the thick branches.
Back at my friend's house, her mother would hospitably skin the mangoes and slice the flesh right under the tree itself and then offer them to me. Wow, the sweet and sourish taste and eating it right there and then just made my day! I don't know about you but for me even this day, it is always more exciting and delicious eating on site!
The abundance of different shapes and sizes of mangoes this morning were all too irresistible and I bought some back home. Then I thought of cooking fish with bean paste and mango and so I did. I used half ripened mango for this dish because the firmness of the flesh would not become mushy during cooking. I wanted the sourness too and yet not too sour with the slight ripeness lending sweetness so that I would not have to add too much sugar. Here's the recipe:
Ingredients and Preparation
600g whole fish or two medium (Halibut or others)
200g skinned and cubed mango that is half ripe
5 pips garlic
10g ginger
2 tbsp chopped green / spring onions
1 tbsp bean paste
1 tsp chilli powder
Salt
300ml water
1 tbsp sesame oil
Oil to sear fish
Mix together: 1 tbsp water, 1 tsp sugar, 1 tsp brown sugar
Back at my friend's house, her mother would hospitably skin the mangoes and slice the flesh right under the tree itself and then offer them to me. Wow, the sweet and sourish taste and eating it right there and then just made my day! I don't know about you but for me even this day, it is always more exciting and delicious eating on site!
The abundance of different shapes and sizes of mangoes this morning were all too irresistible and I bought some back home. Then I thought of cooking fish with bean paste and mango and so I did. I used half ripened mango for this dish because the firmness of the flesh would not become mushy during cooking. I wanted the sourness too and yet not too sour with the slight ripeness lending sweetness so that I would not have to add too much sugar. Here's the recipe:
Ingredients and Preparation
600g whole fish or two medium (Halibut or others)
5 pips garlic
10g ginger
2 tbsp chopped green / spring onions
1 tbsp bean paste
1 tsp chilli powder
Salt
300ml water
1 tbsp sesame oil
Oil to sear fish
Mix together: 1 tbsp water, 1 tsp sugar, 1 tsp brown sugar
- Scale, trim, gut and clean fish. Make two incisions on each side or only one if using smaller fishes. Season with salt and rub chilli powder all over.
- Mince garlic and ginger
How to cook
- Heat wok and pour in enough oil to sear fish. When oil is heated, sear each side over high heat until nicely browned but only half cooked. Remove to a plate and set aside.
- Discard some of the oil leaving a little behind and add sesame oil. Saute garlic and ginger in the heated oils until aromatic.
- Pour in 300ml water and bring to boil. Add bean paste, cubed mangoes, bring to boil, cover and simmer over low heat for 3-4 minutes.
- Add fish, green onions, cornflour mixture and cook over high heat until fish is just cooked and sauce thickened. Season to taste.
- Transfer to a serving platter, garnish with green onion and serve hot with rice.
** Opt for fresh and firm white flesh fish fillets if preferred. Do wear disposable food preparation gloves when handling chilli powder to avoid skin irritation.
~Kim~
