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Three-Flavored Barramundi

Air-fried whole fish smothered in Thai three-flavored sauce. A popular a la Thai Malay dish best served with plain white rice.
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 18 minutes
Total Time 48 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine Malay, Thai
Servings 2

Equipment

  • 1 Air fryer

Ingredients
  

For the fish

  • 1 whole barramundi 700 to 800 grams/ 1½ to 1¾ pounds, see Note 1
  • teaspoons salt
  • teaspoons ground turmeric
  • Cornstarch for coating fish
  • Oil for air-frying

For the sauce

  • 6 tablespoons chili sauce
  • 3 tablespoons tomato ketchup
  • 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
  • ¼ cup cooking oil
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 inch ginger sliced
  • ½ cup onion chopped
  • ½ cup bell pepper roughly chopped, see Note 2
  • 1 stalk lemongrass lightly crushed
  • 2 bunches cilantro root thoroughly cleaned and reserved, stems and leaves separated and roughly chopped
  • 1 tomato roughly chopped
  • ½ cup water
  • 1 cup pineapples roughly chopped
  • 1 Thai chili roughly chopped, see Note 2
  • 1 red chili seeded and roughly chopped
  • 1 tablespoon Thai chili paste
  • 1 tablespoon fish sauce
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon Thai red sugar see Note 3 for substitutes
  • 3 kaffir lime leaves stems and veins removed
  • 1 lime wedge juiced

Instructions
 

  • 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.
  • 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 of cornstarch.
  • 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.
  • 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.

Notes

  1. If barramundi is unavailable, substitute with branzino, sea bass, or any other similar fish.
  2. I prefer to mix up the colors a bit, especially to prevent someone from accidentally biting into very hot chili peppers.  If using green bell peppers, use red Thai chilies, and vice versa.
  3. If unavailable, substitute That red sugar with brown sugar or coconut sugar.