It’s been a while since I have shared a fish recipe. Not that I haven’t made any fish dinners or lunches, but it is just that I haven’t documented it. But, here I am with another quick and easy recipe of pan fried chili basil fish. This delicious Oriental flavoured basa fish recipe is not only a great side dish, but also as an amazing appetizer. And it is going to take you under 30 minutes to cook this one. Firstly, boneless basa fillets don’t take too long to cook, and secondly there is very little of cutting chopping you will need to do for this one. Additionally, most recipes in the Oriental or even Indo-Chinese cuisines, are quick to make. Hence, this basa recipe works really well on a busy work day. When having it for our main meals, we love pairing steamed rice with the chili fish.
Not just lip smacking, but this combination feels pretty comforting, as well. Moreover, since the fish is pan fried and not deep fried, they aren’t too heavy on the tummy, too. Also, pan fried fish saves quite a few calories I’d say. Coming to the recipe itself, since this is my chili basil fish, I have used chilli flakes, dried chilis and even fresh chilis for the heat. Since, we love our food hot, I may have gone overboard with the chilis. However, feel free to alter the quantities and even the choice of chilis you’d like to add to your fish. But, don’t compromise on the basil leaves. The leaves are almost like another ingredient in this recipe and not just a garnish.
You may also like,
Spicy prawns masala with coconut
Macher chop (Bengali fish cutlets)
Under 30 minute recipe
Besides this under 30 minute recipe being so tasty, another thing I love about it is that you can make it with minimal ingredients. Generally, most of us tend to have Chinese sauces in our kitchens along with onions and garlic. The only ingredient that you may not have always are the basil leaves. But they are something that is easily available in the stores. However, if you feel like having this, make sure to pick some basil leaves up along with your fish on your grocery run. This summer, fortunately for me, my homegrown basil leaves flourished so well that I have used them in a lot of recipes. I’ve made lemonades, pestos etc with them. Likewise, the basil you see in my pan fried chili basil fish are the homegrown ones, as well. 🙂
Share it
So, if you love fish and are also a fan of quick weeknight dinner recipes, then you should surely bookmark this, to try it out. And if you do, I’d be thrilled to know how much you enjoyed it. You can share your food pictures with me on Instagram and/or write to me in the comments section, below.
Eat hearty!
Pan fried chili basil fish
Equipment
- Shallow cooking pot with lid
Ingredients
- 600 g Basa fish fillets cut in 1 inch cubes
- 1 tbsp chili flakes
- 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
- 200 g basil leaves
- 1 tbsp garlic minced
- 3 dried red chilis broken
- 6-7 fresh chilis
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp tomato ketchup
- 1 tsp chili sauces
- 2-3 tbsp corn flour
- 1 tbsp chili oil optional
- 2-3 tbsp spring greens
- 4 tbsp oil
- salt to tate
Instructions
- To the washed and pat-dried basa cubes, apply the ginger-garlic paste, red chilli flakes, salt to taste and the corn flour (reserve one tablespoon for later). Mix gently to coat well
- Heat 3 tbsp oil in your pan and throw in the the marinated fish chunks (in a single layer) and fry until lightly golden on both sides. Remove on kitchen towels and set aside
- Add the remaining oil in the pan along with garlic, fresh chilis and dried chilis. When they turn fragrant, add the onions and fry over medium high heat, until they soften
- Reduce the flame to medium and add the fish sauce, soy sauce, chili sauce and the tomato ketchup. Mix well and once it comes to a gentle simmer, add in the remaining cornflour dissolved in 2-3 tbsp of cold water* and quickly stir it in
- Once the sauce thickens, lower the heat, add the pan fried fish, chilli oil (if using) and the basil leaves. Gently, but completely, mix them with the sauces and remove in a serving dish
- Garnish with some more basil leaves, spring greens and chili flakes and serve your delicious pan fried chili basil leaves as is or with some steamed rice. Enjoy!
Notes
- You can adjust the amount of chilis you want to use in the recipe, as per taste
- I haven't added any salt in step 4 as all the sauces have salt in them, so do the fried fishes. However, you could do a taste check and adjust the seasoning, if needed
- You could also deep fry the fishes and cook with the sauces later
- tbsp - tablespoon
- tsp - teaspoon
- g - grams
