There is a couple of staple food that I always have in stock in my kitchen; pasta (of course), rice, udon noodle, tinned tuna, tinned anchovies, tomato paste, frozen peas, frozen shrimps and frozen pangasius fillet. Many are put off with the idea of eating frozen fish. I, however, have a different idea. I always think that frozen fish is always frozen when it was really fresh, therefore it has often much better quality than those lumpy grey fillet of fish you find in the supermarket. The trick is you have to defreeze it properly and slowly. You have also to pat it dry really with kitchen paper. If you do this step properly, you would end up with a nice fillet of fish that is equally good as the fresh one.
Other benefit of having frozen fish around is that you could always have a nice fish dish throughout the week without having to go to the shop twice or thrice a week. Plus, it is much cheaper too than the fresh ones.
I have played with different recipes of pangasius in the past, my favourites are the fried pangasius fillet with tomato and capper sauce (click HERE to see the recipe) and the aromatic fish curry (click HERE to see the recipe). Here I am going to present a different variation of the recipe: Pangasius fillet with pineapple and tomato sauce. It is relatively easy to prepare and very tasty.
Pineapple is a very versatile fruit; it is good as dessert and also as addition to savoury dishes. Its sweetness and tartness marry well with pork, chicken and also fish. See below for the recipe and enjoy! Next post: another recipe with frozen Pangasius fillet.
Ingredients (serves two persons)
For the fish:
2 Pangasius fillets, defrosted and pat dry
5 table spoons of semolina flour
2 teaspoon of garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste
½ cup vegetable oil for frying
For the sauce:
1/3 pineapple, cut into chunks 1cm thick
4 table spoon of tomato paste
1 table spoon of soy sauce
2 table spoon sherry wine
1 teaspoon sugar (less if the pineapple is very sweet)
½ big red pepper, sliced
½ shallot, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely shopped
Salt to taste
Vegetable oil for frying
Methods:
Pineapple and tomato sauce
In a small cooking pot, heat a table spoon of vegetable oil.
Fry the garlic, shallot and pepper until soft and fragrant.
Add the pineapple and stir well.
Add the sherry and simmer until the alcohol evaporates.
Add tomato sauce, sugar, salt and soy sauce.
Simmer until the pineapple is somewhat cooked.
Add more water if the sauce is too thick.
Check the seasoning and keep warm.
Fried fish:
Mix the semolina, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
Coat the fillet evenly with the mix.
Heat a half cup of vegetable oil in a non stick frying pan.
Fry the fillet gently on medium heat until golden and crispy.
Serve the fish with the sauce, rice and salad of your choice. I served it with my home-grown alfalfa salad.
Enjoy!
