Three-flavored Barramundi

As I’ve mentioned before, I am a fan of a la Thai Malay cooking. However, I never imagined I would able to make all these wonderful dishes myself, until I discovered Che Nom’s YouTube channel. Today, so many of Che Nom’s recipes feature regularly on my daily menu, one of them being this tri-flavored barramundi.

The dish is called ‘three-flavored’ because of the sweet, sour, and spicy flavors of the sauce. In certain parts of the world, barramundi may not be available, but branzino, sea bass or any similar fish will also work very well. Having made this dish many time, I’ve introduced a few shortcuts in the method, as well as air-frying the fish to make it healthier.

For maximum authenticity, an important ingredient to have is Thai chili paste, or nam prik phao. I use the Mae Pranom brand, certified halal and said to be one of the best. This is a very common ingredient in Thai cuisine, and should be available in the Asian section of your neighborhood supermarket. Don’t skip the tomato either, as this ingredient is very important for thickening the sauce as well as providing natural MSG packed with umami.

This recipe makes a lot of sauce. Oftentimes I’d save the leftover sauce and just fry another fish, and there I have another full meal ready. Serve this three-flavored barramundi with steaming hot white rice, perhaps with a side of plain omelet. Yum!

Jump to Recipe

Preparing the Fish

First, prepare the fish. Pat dry using paper towels.

Trim the fins and tail using kitchen shears.

Make a few diagonal cuts on both sides.

Rub each side with ½ teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon turmeric. Rub the inside with the remaining salt and turmeric.

Preheat your air fryer, 3 to 5 minutes. My air fryer instructions say preheating is not necessary, but I find preheating helps prevent the fish from sticking to the air fryer basket too much.

While the air fryer is preheating, coat both sides of the fish with the cornstarch.

Spray with cooking oil on both sides, not leaving any dry spots.

When the air fryer is done preheating, lightly brush the basket with oil.

Place the fish in your air fryer basket and cook, flipping halfway, at 200 degrees C for 18 minutes.

Making the Sauce

While the fish is air-frying, prepare the sauce. In a medium-sized bowl, add the chili sauce, tomato ketchup and oyster sauce. Set aside.

In a wok over medium-high heat, heat the oil. Add the garlic, ginger and onions and cook, stirring, until fragrant.

Add the bell peppers and lemongrass and cook, stirring, about 30 seconds.

Next, add the cilantro roots, cilantro stems and tomatoes and cook, stirring, until slightly soft, 1 to 2 minutes.

Add the bowl of sauces. Rinse the bowl with the water, and add to the pan. Stir until combined.

Add the pineapples, chilies, Thai chili paste, fish sauce, salt, sugar, lime leaves and lime juice, and stir until combined. Adjust seasoning to taste.

When the fish is done, transfer to a serving platter and ladle the prepared sauce over the fish. Discard the cilantro roots, lemongrass and lime leaves for a cleaner presentation.

Sprinkle with the chopped cilantro leaves.

Serve with plain white rice.

I had so much sauce left over, I fried another fish and topped it with the remaining sauce. The sauce-to-fish ratio was slightly off, but it was still quite good. Perhaps a smaller fish like black or golden pomfret would be just right.