General Tso’s Rock-fish & Chips

At Skipper Otto, we are proud to offer a few of the Ocean Wise recommended species of Pacific Rockfish when it is available (for more on our sourcing strategy read this blog post!)

So the very creative Steve W is back with another delicious recipe using our Yellowmouth rockfish. Taking a twist on traditional fish and chips, he tosses the fish with sticky sweet and slightly spicy General Tso sauce.

Note: The sauce can be made in advance, and can be paired with pre-prepared frozen french fries if preferred.

Ingredients

Rockfish:

• 10 oz (300 gram) Skipper Otto rockfish eg: yellowmouth, silvergray or yellowtail (skin removed)
• 3/4 cup cornstarch
• 1 Tbsp Chinese Five spice
• Oil for frying (high smoke point)
• Sesame seeds – garnish
• Green Onions – garnish

Sauce:

• 3 Tbsp soy sauce
• 4 Tbsp brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp rice vinegar
• 1 Tbsp hoisin sauce
• 1 Tbsp cornstarch
• 2 tsp Sambal Oelak (or sub similar chilli paste)
• 1 tsp seasame oil
• 1 tsp crushed red chilli flakes
• 1 cup chicken stock

French Fries/Chips:

• 2 Russet Potatoes (or opt for pre-made frozen)
• Oil for frying

Directions

1. Preheat oil to 350F/180C
2. While the oil is heating, make the sauce by combining all of the sauce ingredients in a medium sized pot over medium heat. Stir until thickened. About 5 or 10 minutes. Keep warm until ready to use.
3. Cut potatoes to your desired thickness for french fries (Steve suggests keeping them small, as the fish will be in small portions as well), then soak them in cold water for 15 minutes (this is optional but it removes some of the starch which makes the fries a little crisper.)
4. Lay fries onto towel/ paper towel to dry off, and cook in the 350 degree oil in batches, until done. Depending on the size of your fries, this could take between 5 – 10 minutes. Keep the cooked chips warm in a 200F/100C oven until all of them have been cooked.
5. While the fries cook, mix the ¾ cup cornstarch and 1 Tablespoon Chinese five spice in a shallow dish.
6. Cut the fish into equal size pieces, about 1 inch /3 cm and coat in the cornstarch mixture. Carefully drop the coated fish into the same hot oil you cooked the fries in, and cook until golden and done. 5 or 6 minutes.
7. Drain the cooked fish on towel/ paper towel and toss into the warm prepared sauce.

Plating:

Place french fries onto a bowl or plate, and drizzle some of the warm General Tso sauce over the fries. Top with rockfish and garnish with sesame seeds and green onions. Enjoy!

Servings: 2 people

Recipe shared with us by our friend and member Steve W. – see more of his recipe creations on Instagram