Pieces of fried cod in sweet and sour sauce
9 servings
30 minutes
Pieces of fried cod in sweet and sour sauce are a harmony of tender fish fried to a golden crust and a vibrant, balanced sauce. The dish's history traces back to European cuisine, but its flavor recalls classic Asian traditions where the tanginess of vinegar meets soft sweetness. Vegetables add freshness and texture, while the mild heat of pepper enhances the gastronomic play. This dish is perfect for a cozy dinner or an unexpected culinary experiment, delighting with contrasting flavors and aromas. Serving it with rice or fresh vegetables makes it complete and balanced. Each portion is a true pleasure that combines the tenderness of fish with the richness of sweet and sour sauce, creating a gastronomic masterpiece on your plate.
1
Let's prepare a sweet and sour sauce. This is a simple sauce made from the most common ingredients that can always be found at home — sugar, ketchup, and white vinegar (preferably Chinese, even better rice vinegar). Just mix the ingredients in a suitable container until the sugar dissolves.
- Ketchup: 2 tablespoons
- White vinegar: 2 tablespoons
- Sugar: 2 tablespoons
2
Then we need to prepare the vegetables – wash the bell pepper and green chili, peel the garlic and onion. Since we need the pieces to be a size suitable for eating with chopsticks, we will take a medium onion. We cut it lengthwise into four parts, and then crosswise in half. Then we separate each piece into layers. We cut the bell pepper into diamond shapes (for beauty) or rectangular slices after removing the seeds. We also cut the green chili (removing the seeds and white partitions, as they give almost all the spiciness to the pods). We chop the garlic in a convenient way (for example, by pressing it with a garlic press).
- Onion: 1 head
- Fresh red pepper: 0.5 piece
- Green chili pepper: 2 pieces
- Garlic: 1 clove
3
We cut the cod fillet (boneless) into pieces of about 2 cm by 2.5 cm (of course, there's no need to measure with a ruler).
- Cod fillet: 250 g
4
We coat the cod fillet in corn starch, which adheres wonderfully to the moist fish pieces.
- Cornstarch: 2 tablespoons
5
Fry pieces of breaded fish fillet in heated peanut oil until a crust forms — don't rush to avoid drying out the fish; it should be juicy. Fry the fish in batches, placing the cooked pieces on paper towels to absorb excess oil.
6
Quickly stir-fry the prepared vegetables in heated peanut oil, stirring constantly, for 1-2 minutes on low heat. The vegetables will remain almost raw and will soften slightly. Remove them from the wok and set aside.
7
In a clean wok, heat some peanut oil, pour in the prepared sweet and sour sauce, and stir-fry it a bit to thicken (the sauce shouldn't be too thick; it should be runny and sticky enough).
8
Add sautéed vegetables to the wok and mix. Add pieces of fish, gently mix everything again to coat the ingredients with the sauce, let the fish pieces warm up, and remove the wok from the heat. If the sauce has thickened, do not dilute it with water — the sauce will lose concentration, and consequently, the taste will worsen (the ratio of sugar and vinegar will change). It's better to add more sauce (say, ready sweet and sour sauce). It's better to have a lot than for it to be too thick.
9
9. Add the sautéed vegetables to the wok and mix. Add the pieces of fish and gently mix everything again to coat the ingredients with sauce, allowing the fish pieces to heat up before removing the wok from the heat. If the sauce has thickened, do not dilute it with water — it will lose concentration and consequently worsen the taste (the ratio of sugar and vinegar will change). It's better to add more sauce (say, ready-made sweet and sour sauce). It's better to have a lot than for it to be too thick.