Whole roasted fish with brown butter sambal

TIME40 minutes MAKES2 servings PORTION
0.5x 1x 2x 3x

I recently came back from Crete, where I had the most amazing charcoal grilled whole fish. Arriving back in Toronto to a week of quantum computing conferences and no food in the fridge, I was astounded to find a whole red snapper in Metro (and promptly bought it!).

On the last day of a pretty intense week, I came home with a plan to try the whole roasted fish with brown butter sambal from Lucky Dragon Supper Club, only to discover the fish was not scaled1. Cue half an hour of descaling in the kitchen sink, and two days of finding scales all over the apartment.

I had no regrets though — this dish was absolutely delicious. The nutty brown butter almost fries the outside of the fish, while the sambal, lemon, and curry leaves add a citrusy kick. This recipes is slightly modified from the original sauce, with the addition of curry leaves and a reduction in the amount of butter.

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 whole fish (such as red snapper)
  • 120g unsalted butter
  • 10-20 curry leaves
  • 1/2 lemon juiced
  • 3 lemon slices
  • 3 tbsp sambal or chilli sauce 2
  • 1 tbsp fish sauce
  • 1 tsp salt
  • Chives or spring onions (to serve)

STEPS

  1. Preheat oven to 200ºC.

  2. Remove the dorsal and pectoral fin if not removed. Scale the fish, rinse it, and pat it dry. Cut three diagonal slits in the fish on each side to allow the sambal butter to penetrate, and place the lemon slices in the cavity. Salt the fish all over, and then leave in the fridge uncovered.

  3. In a small saucepan over medium high heat, melt the butter. Once it starts to foam, add the curry leaves. Continue to cook until browned. Once browned, remove from the heat and stir in the lemon juice, sambal, and fish sauce.

  4. Place the fish in a baking tray lined first with foil then baking paper. Pour the brown butter all over the fish, and then place in the oven for 20-25 minutes until cooked through and the flesh easily flakes with a fork. Serve with chives or sping onions.

NOTES

  1. Why would Metro sell a gutted yet unscaled fish?? ↩︎
  2. I like to use Singlong’s Chicken Rice Chilli sauce ↩︎

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