Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Claypot Catfish in an Ironpot using Red Snapper



Last November I gave my mother a small iron pot for her birthday. I then used it to try to make claypot catfish following this recipe, but using tilapia instead of catfish (I couldn't find any catfish). It was tasty, but it was different from the kind you find in restaurants. It was soup-like, perhaps caused by the fact that the small pot was filled to the brim with fish and liquid.
Anyways, I tried making some again, but without a recipe. I used red snapper because, once again, our local supermarket did not carry catfish. The first time, I noticed the fish was still white and soft, so this time I decided to first pan fry (pot fry) the fish. I put the fish away in a bowl and replaced it with three cloves of garlic and the same amount of ginger chopped into "chips". I cooked the garlic and ginger with some fish sauce, soy sauce and a spoonful of sugar taking care to scrape the small bits of fish stuck on the bottom of the pot into the sauce. Next I I placed the fish back into the pot and mixed it as one would mix a salad to get dressing on every leaf. It continued to cook for about five minutes, and then it was time to eat!
My dad and I decided to serve it with chinese wheat noodles and a cucumber-carrot-lettuce salad. It was tasty, but a bit on the salty side. Next time I will omit the soy sauce.

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