Recipe
Monkfish in Salted Soya Bean & Black Bean Sauce
Prep Time:
Cook Time:
Yield:
2 persons
Monkfish is not the best looking fish amongst all fishes you could get. But, it is probably the fish that I love most! Monkfish is a whitefish. It has got firm and meaty flesh that is very suitable for stir-frying. The secret to make good stir-fry fish dishes is to make sure the flesh doesn’t break into small pieces. Back home in Malaysia, my mom likes to use red/grey snappers or grouper. In London, the size of the red or grey snapper is somewhat like sea bream, which doesn’t give as chunky flesh as those big red or grey snapper.
I made Seabass in Salted Soya Bean Sauce a while ago. Like last time time, I used salted soya bean but I added some fermented black bean. I mashed both to form a paste. Besides, I grounded some fresh chilies and mixed it into salted soya bean and black bean paste. For some reasons, I have been craving for a spicy and pungent dish. That’s why I added some chilies and used quite a bit of garlic!!
To be honest, I like to eat fish with skin on. Of course, the scales are off! The reason being, if the skin is left on, I would deep-fry the fish to have the crispy top layer. Crispy fish skin, yum! This also avoids the fillet to break into small pieces. Over here, fish bought from the supermarkets is always filleted and without skin. Unless, I buy whole fish! Even so, I shallow fried the fillets to achieve slightly brownish and crispy top layer.
This time, I have adjusted the recipe slightly and add tomato. Hope you will like it!
Tomato Risotto
Prep Time:
Cook Time:
Yield:
2 persons
Ingredients:
For the Monkfish in Salted Soya Bean & Black Bean Sauce:
3 tbsp sunflower oil
250g monkfish or any other firm meaty white fish, cut into chunks
1 tbsp cornflour
1 tbsp fermented black bean
2 tsp salted soya bean
2 red chillies, ground
2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
1cm piece ginger, peeled and cut into matchsticks
1 tomato, cut into wedges
50ml water
1 spring onion, cut into 4cm length
Method:
1. Heat 2 tbsp of the sunflower oil over medium heat. Dust the fish with some cornflour and cook for 3-4 minutes or them until brown. Drain and set aside
2. Put the fermented black bean and salted soya bean in a bowl and give them a good mash. Once they form a paste, add the ground chili paste, mix and set aside.
3. Add the rest of the sunflower oil in a plan over medium-high heat, put the garlic and ginger and cook for 1-2 minutes or until fragrant. Then, add the mixed paste and tomato. Stir and cook for 2-3 minutes.
4. Pour in the water and bring to the boil for 1 minute. Add the spring onions and fried fish, thoroughly coat with the sauce. Cook for 1-2 minutes to warm through. Serve warm.
Sounds lovely. I like monkfish too but can’t get it here. 🙁
I like the chewy (steamed) and crispy (fried) texture of the fish skin, that’s why I hardly buy fish fillet which doesn’t come with the skin. 🙂 I feel hungry looking at your pic, yum yum!
My hubby and son love fish skin too! Monkfish is new to me. I have very limited knowledge about fish. Tks for sharing such a simple yet delicious recipe.
Joie de vivre,
It’s quite difficult to get Monkfish in London too. It’s quite rare to be able to get it at supermarkets. However, if I go to the proper fishmongers, they usually have it but pricy. So, when I get some, it feels like luxury food 🙂
Piggy,
I really can’t get my hands off the crispy bits!! Yum!! Fish fillets seem to be popular here.. everything is trimmed and cut. Sometimes, I prefer to go to proper fishmonger where I can have more choices and buy the whole fish. I don’t mind to take the guts and scales off!
lk,
I think monkfish is one of the Atlantic species. I don’t have great knowledge in fish too. I have been learning the types of fishes available in this part of the world. It’s sometimes annoying as I can’t get the kind of ikan kembung in Malaysia over here..
Ok, it’s Mackerel but it’s not the same 🙁 I checked on the internet and compared both – they have different pattern on their skin and slightly different colours. I prefer those mackerel back home, I think the flesh is more fine!
I haven’t seen any monkfish for purchased here, so I haven’t tried yet.
Looks yummy. I love the texture of monkfish. And I normally steam with soya bean paste and black beans.
Pepy,
If you happen to come across monkfish next time, give it a try. it’s so succulent!
Pigpigcorner,
Steaming is another great idea!
This looks great! I’ve seen so many wonderful monkfish recipes, I wish I could find some.
this is surely delicius!!!! wonderful recipe!!!
I think I never have monkfish b4..but your dish make me drooling by just look at the meaty fish!!
That really looks delicious. I’d like to invite you to take some time to drop by at Foodista and share your delicious recipe with us. We have launched an online food and cooking encyclopedia ala wikipedia. Add a recipe and you can win a $100 gift card to Sur la table. Don’t forget to register first so we know who to thank the recipe for. Thanks!
Beautiful. I’d love to have a taste of this but I guess the only way to do so is to try it!
Fearless Kitchen,
Yeah, it’s definitely delicious. If you could find monkfish, try some.
kosenrufu mama,
Thanks for dropping by and your comment!
beachloverkitchen,
It’s quite difficult to find monkfish. I am trying to find out what other meaty fish I could use.
foodista,
Thanks for the invitation!
Scott,
Thanks! You are right!! 🙂