Anyone who has made this knows the slime is the tiring part. Fish that is still slippery tastes muddy and never crisps up. The ginger fish sauce has to be sharp and fragrant to balance the richness.
The fish is scrubbed with coarse salt and lime juice, then scraped clean for about three minutes, patted dry and scored on both sides. The cuts sit about 2cm apart so the fish cooks evenly.
This batch weighs about 658g, at roughly 215 calories per 100g.
Method
Put the catfish in a basin with 1/2 tablespoon salt, squeeze in the juice of part of the lime, scrub it all over and scrape off the slime, working for about 3 minutes, then rinse it and drain it.
Pat the fish dry with paper and score both sides, spacing the cuts about 2cm apart.
Season the fish with 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon seasoning powder, 1/2 teaspoon MSG, 1 tablespoon ground ginger, 1 teaspoon black pepper and 1/2 tablespoon kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, mix well and leave it for 30 minutes.
Peel the ginger and chop it, pound it with 3 bird's eye chilies, add 1 tablespoon kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, 1 tablespoon fish sauce and the rest of the lime, mix well and spoon it into a bowl.
Heat 250ml oil, lower the heat to medium and slide in the fish, turning it so both sides brown, then lift it onto paper towels and serve with the ginger fish sauce.
Tips
Wait until one side is fully golden before turning, since repeated turning breaks the fish up.
Medium heat cooks the fish through, while heat that is too high draws out water and makes it stick.
Ground ginger covers the muddy note of catfish well, though a heavy hand turns bitter in the pan.
Pound the ginger and chili into a paste before mixing in the fish sauce, which is what brings out the aroma.
Fish patted completely dry before it meets the oil crisps better and spatters less.
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The recipe above is sweetened with kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, measured 1:1 like sugar. See the product page or send us a message.