Thai Baked Fish with Crispy Chile Garlic Sauce (Pla Rad Prik)

About This Recipe

Pla rad prik is a staple of Thai seafood restaurants and home tables alike: a whole fish, usually snapper or sea bass, fried until the skin blisters and the flesh stays moist, then covered in a glossy sauce built from garlic, chiles, tamarind, palm sugar, and fish sauce. The sauce is what defines the dish -- it has to hit sour, sweet, salty, and spicy all at once, and it's poured on hot so it sizzles against the crisp skin. The technique hinges on getting the fish properly dry before frying (patted with paper towels, sometimes dusted lightly in rice flour) so the skin actually crisps rather than steams in the oil. A wok with at least 2 inches of oil, heated until a chopstick dropped in bubbles immediately, gives the best crackling texture. The sauce is built separately in a small pan while the fish rests, so both come together hot. Served whole on a platter with jasmine rice, this is a dish for the center of the table -- everyone picks at the crisp tail, the sauce-soaked flesh near the head, and mops up extra sauce with rice.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 1 wholesea bass or snapper(about 700g, scaled and gutted)
• 2 tbsprice flour(for dusting)
• 3 cupsneutral oil(for frying)
• 5 clovesgarlic(minced)
• 4red Thai chiles(sliced, or 2 tbsp chile paste)
• 2 tbspfish sauce
• 2 tbsppalm sugar(or brown sugar)
• 2 tbsptamarind paste
• 3 tbspwater
• 0.25 cupThai basil leaves
• 2spring onions(sliced)

Instructions

1. 1

   Score and dry the fish

   Score the fish 3 times on each side, diagonally through the thickest part. Pat completely dry with paper towels, then dust lightly with rice flour.

2. 2

   Heat the oil

   Heat oil in a wok over high heat until it reaches 180C/350F -- a piece of garlic should sizzle immediately on contact.

3. 3

   Fry the fish

   Carefully lower the fish into the oil. Fry 6-8 minutes per side until the skin is deep golden and crisp and the flesh flakes easily. Drain on a rack.

4. 4

   Build the sauce

   In a small pan, fry garlic and chiles in 1 tbsp of the frying oil for 30 seconds until fragrant. Add fish sauce, palm sugar, tamarind, and water, and simmer 2-3 minutes until glossy and slightly thickened.

5. 5

   Sauce and serve

   Pour the hot sauce directly over the fried fish so it sizzles. Scatter with Thai basil and spring onions and serve immediately with jasmine rice.

Variations

• •

  Pla rad prik with a whole fried fish substituted for pan-fried fillets if a whole fish isn't available.

• •

  Add sliced bell pepper and onion to the sauce for more body, common in restaurant versions.

• •

  Swap tamarind for extra lime juice if tamarind paste isn't on hand.

Storage

Best eaten fresh since the fried skin loses crispness quickly. Leftover fish and sauce can be refrigerated separately up to 2 days; reheat the fish in a hot oven, not a microwave, to partially recrisp the skin.

Frequently Asked Questions