Tilapia Fish & Vinegar/Soy Sauce

If you want to learn how to cook Chinese food, I highly recommend Chinese Cooking Made Easy with Simple Sauces and Dressing by Mu-Tsun Lee. This is one of many Wei-Chuan's Cookbook series and I own 3 so far. The recipes I made from Wei-Chuan's Cookbook were not a disappointment! All were good and tasted authentic. This recipe serves for 2 but I doubled the recipe to cook for my family. I used Tilapia because that's what I have in hand but you can subsitute for cod, halibut or any white fish.

Ingredients:

3/4 lb (340 g) white fish, cut into pieces
3 Tbs soy sauce
1 Tbs black vinegar

1/2 tsp each: sesame oil, sugar, minced garlic, ginger root
2 Tbs chopped green onions
1 hot pepper or chili, sliced
Cornstarch (to lightly coat the fish)
1 Tbs oil

Directions:

1. Pour some cornstarch on a plate, lightly coat the fish, tap off some excess cornstarch and put it in a bowl or plate.

2. Heat 1 Tbs of oil on a non-stick wok or frying pan on med-high heat. Cook the fish for about 10 mins.

3. Combine sesame oil, sugar, minced garlic, ginger root, green onions and chopped chili in a small bowl and pour over the fish. Let it cook for another 5 mins.

4. Serve immediately with a warm bowl of Jasmine rice.




Cook's Tips:

* For a healthier version, preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Combine all the ingredients (EXCEPT cornstarch and oil) in an oven safe dish. Cook for 15 mins or until the fish is cooked through. Serve immediately.

* You don't have to follow the recipe exactly. When it comes to making sauces, I always taste and make some adjustments before cooking the sauce. If it's too salty, I add a little more sugar. If it's too sweet, I add a little more salt (or soy sauce for this recipe). You want to have a balance of both.