This Recipe is part of the Fresh and Flavourful Vietnamese Menu
Take one bite of this dish and you’ll be amazed by the magic of ginger and pan-fried fish. This classic home-style Vietnamese favourite is equally delicious with salmon, snapper, mahi mahi, or halibut. The cucumber “noodles” add a refreshing note and helps keep the flavour of the sauce on the fish and off the plate.
Ingredients
1/2 hothouse cucumber, unpeeled
1 cup Ginger-Lime Dipping Sauce, or as needed
1/4 cup vegetable oil
Four 6-ounce (170-g) pieces black cod, skinless and boneless, washed and patted dry
4 small cloves garlic, uncut
Directions
1. Using a Japanese Benriner with the julienne blade, hold the cucumber at an angle and push against the blade to cut into the long, thin strips 5 to 6 inches (12 to 15 cm) long and 1/16 inch (1.5 mm) thick. Rotate the cucumber as you cut to avoid the seeds. Alternatively, you can use a knife to cut the cucumbers. Add the cucumber “noodles” to the dipping sauce and set aside.
2. Heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan over moderate heat. Cook the fish fillets until golden and just cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes on each side depending on the thickness. Halfway into the cooking, add the whole garlic cloves and cook until they turn golden. If the fish fillets are thick, cover with a lid and cook a few minutes longer.
3. Remove the fish and garlic and drain on paper towels.
4. Arrange the fillets on a serving dish. Remove the cucumber noodles from the sauce and arrange them on the fish. Pour half of the sauce on top and serve the remaining sauce on the side. Top each fillet with a garlic clove.
Serves 4
Excerpted from The Flavors of Asia by Mai Pham. Copyright © 2009 by The Culinary Institute of America. Excerpted by permission of DK Publishing Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher. Buy the book now.