A few questions about fried fish poppers for New Years Eve...
My idea for what to cook for a New Years Eve seafood party was to deconstruct a fish taco recipe I have into fried fish poppers with two different dipping sauces. I have a few questions for SE readers with a bit more cooking experience than I:
1. My idea for dipping sauces were a chipotle mayo and a sweet asian sauce, maybe topped with chopped scallions--the sauce that usually accompanies gyozas comes to mind (does that have a specific name?). I've done some searching but haven't found any decent recipes. Links/suggestions welcome!
2. The original recipe uses Tilapia. Do you think Tilapia would work well in this kind of application or would you suggest maybe cod or halibut? Or any other fish for that matter?
Thank you and I hope all of your New Years Eve menu plans are going well!
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10 Comments:
Torigyoza Yak is I believe the name for the dipping sauce. You might also try a Thai peanut sauce for dipping. I am not a Tilapia fan but almost any firm white fish should work Cod and Halibut may turn out to be a bit flakey. If you can get your hands on some, you may want to try snapper, grouper, amberjack or the like.... those should do nicely. Or if you want to get really crazy go for some good Tuna with sesame crust and go without the taco shell!
Good luck Steamsoldier and let me know how they turn out!
Pavlov at 7:04PM on 12/29/08
I would try fried catfish...it's firm and fries really well -- you shouldn't have the flake issue. I also would consider using panko breadcrumbs for a really crunchy coating.
dipping sauce:
sesame oil
rice wine vinegar
soy sauce
grated ginger
scallions
juliebugsmama at 9:11AM on 12/30/08
I know what a jalepeno popper is, but I've never heard the term "fish popper." Is this just a breaded fish nugget sort of thing? Or is it stuffed in a jalepeno?
dbcurrie at 12:13PM on 12/30/08
the dipping sauce above sounds good, if you don't already have all the ingredients, trader joe's has an 'asian dipping sauce' that's really good.
cares951 at 1:19PM on 12/30/08
i find it weird people will make their own salad dressing but buy a "asian dipping sauce." it's really easy to make. just mix together soy sauce, rice wine or apple cider vinegar, minced garlic or ginger, sesame oil, red pepper, cracked black pepper, sugar, sliced scallions, hot peppers if you need more spice, and sesame seeds. ok it sounds like a million ingredients, but all you have to do is throw it in dish and you're done.
bionicgrrrl at 1:30PM on 12/30/08
@dbcurrie: I'm just cutting up some tilapia fillets into around 1.5in pieces and then breading them using eggs, flour, and panko breadcrumbs. Then I'm just tossing them into the fry daddy till they turn a nice golden brown. So yes, basically a fried fish nugget sort of thing. :)
I just got back from the grocery store. I got 2lbs. of tilapia and will probably make about a cup and a half of each sauce.
@julebugsmama I was thinking of trying the catfish but at the market the tilapia looked a lot fresher. Thank you for the suggestion, though. Definitely something to try next time!
steamsoldier at 1:32PM on 12/30/08
bionicgrrrl...i agree with you but if you don't have all the stuff in your pantry already, it can add up.
cares951 at 4:56PM on 12/30/08
@cares951 i guess i usually have those ingredients in the pantry. if i don't have any of the fresh ingredients, i go basic with soy sauce, vinegar (lemon/lime juice works also), and black pepper. simple and so much better than the pre-made stuff. also, in the long run, it's much cheaper than a store bought dipping sauce.
bionicgrrrl at 2:02AM on 12/31/08
I'm sure it's a bit late for this but we dredge shrimp (med shelled deveined) in corn starch and deep fry for about 2 or 3 minutes and then toss them in some mayo mixed with sweet thai chilli sauce and some sriracha to taste for bang bang shrimp. It's great and seems a bit impressive even though it's a snap.
katarina_santiago at 8:49PM on 12/31/08
In the end they came out great. I did something I knew I shouldn't have which was I covered them in plastic wrap after frying them and when we got there they had efficiently steamed themselves into sogginess. They still tasted fabulous.
The fish was marinated in lime juice for about 6 hours. I brushed the fried pieces with a concoction of honey, cumin, veg oil, and lime juice right before I put them out.
The sauces I made turned out good. The chipotle mayo was light mayo, sour cream, oregano, chipotle tabasco and salt. I've made it with canned chipotles in adobo previously, so I decided to try the tabasco. The asian sauce was soy sauce, rice vinegar, fresh ginger, honey, scallions, sesame oil, toasted sesame seeds, and some sriracha.
Thanks for all the replies. Happy new year to you all.
steamsoldier at 8:23AM on 01/02/09