Asian Style Tilapia

How do I love thee?

By:  Elizabeth Barrett Browning

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of everyday's
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
I love thee with a passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints, --- I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life! --- and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.

Tilapia, why do I love thee?  Let me count the ways.  Can you tell, I love tilapia….ok, maybe I’m not as crazy about it as the poem suggests, but I thought I’d share a classic beautiful poem anyway.   I love tilapia because of its sweet flavor, the texture has just the right blend of starchiness and silkiness to it, and most of all it’s inexpensive.

I have a couple of different recipes for tilapia, but for today’s post, I wanted to present you with the fancier version.  It’s actually very simple but it is just loaded with flavor that you can serve it as an everyday meal or at your next party.  I served it once at a buffet and it was a hit.  I found this recipe on the internet a few years ago, but unfortunately I can no longer remember which site I went to.   I hope you love it as much as I do.

Here’s a couple of tips when buying non-live fish.  We may not always have the opportunity to buy live fish, but non-live fish can still be fresh if you check these two areas of the fish.  First, check the eyes.  Make sure the eyes are still bright and crystal clear and not foggy.  Second, check the gills.  You want the gills to be bright red and not grey.  I hope this helps you in your next seafood dish.

Ingredients:

1 Tilapia

½ cup cooking oil for deep frying

3 cloves garlic minced

1 stalk green onion cut into 2-inch lengths

Cooking Sauce:

3 tablespoons soy sauce

¼ teaspoon sesame oil

1/8 teaspoon ginger powder

1/8 teaspoon white pepper

3 teaspoons brown sugar dissolved in about 1 tablespoon of water

Procedure:

1.  Brown the garlic in oil.  Set aside.

2.  Deep fry the tilapia.  Remove the tilapia from the pan. Discard the oil.

3.  Combine all the ingredients for the cooking sauce, and half of the cooked garlic.

4.  Using the same pan, pour the cooking sauce into the pan over medium heat.  Add the tilapia and the green onion.  Leave some green onion for garnish.  Simmer the tilapia for about 15 seconds on each side.  Remove the tilapia from the pan.

5.  With the remaining sauce still in the pan, turn up the heat to high, until the sauce thickens.  Pour the sauce over the tilapia and serve.  Garnish with the remaining garlic and green onions.  

Option:  For a healthier version:  Wrap the tilapia in aluminum foil  with the cooking sauce and green onion in it.  Place the wrapped tilapia in a pan with about half an inch of water and steam for about 30 minutes. -GG-