Lapu Lapu Sa Tausi Recipe

Fried Fish with Black Bean Sauce
Lapu Lapu Sa Tausi

A Chinese-influenced dish with a delicious sauce of ginger and salted black beans. Just like bagoong, salted black beans are an acquired taste.

• 1 grouper or red snapper (about 1 lb/500 g), cleaned, scaled and left whole
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) oil
• 4 tablespoons cornstarch dissolved in 6 tablespoons water
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• Spring onion, thinly sliced, to garnish

Black Bean Sauce

• 1 small cake pressed tofu (about 5 oz/150 g), drained and diced
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 in (21/2 cm) ginger, minced
• 2–3 tablespoons salted whole black beans, lightly mashed
• 11/2 cups (375 ml) water
• 3 shallots, diced
• 3 small tomatoes, cut into wedges
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch dissolved in 4 tablespoons water

1 Season the fish with the salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a skillet large enough to hold the fish. Dip the seasoned fish in the cornstarch-water mixture and fry in the hot oil until crisp and golden brown, about 5 minutes on each side. Drain on paper towels and set aside.

2 Reserve 3 tablespoons of the oil in the skillet and drain away the rest. Make the Black Bean Sauce by frying the tofu lightly in the skillet for 3 minutes until golden brown. Add the minced garlic and ginger, and stir-fry lightly for a minute. Then add the black beans and water, and stir to mix well. 

3 Add the shallots and tomatoes. Bring the mixture to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the cornstarch mixture and stir for 1 to 2 minutes until it thickens. Remove from the heat.
 
4 Transfer the fish to a serving platter and ladle the sauce over it. Just before serving, drizzle the sesame oil over the fish and garnish with freshly sliced spring onion. Best served hot

Serves 4 
Preparation time: 35 mins 
Cooking time: 25 mins