Tempeh-Crusted King Snapper with
Yellow Bell Pepper Sauce and Asian Greens
About the recipe:
This dish showcases the unique characteristics of tempeh – specifically, its delectably nutty flavour and crunchy texture. The flavour of tempeh is quite understated on its own, but when paired with a white fish, its distinctive taste shines through and adds a delicious crunch to the fish. The zesty Balinese lemongrass relish that accompanies this dish is the perfect foil for the tempeh-crusted fish, resulting in a sensational dish that your dinner guests will talk about for days.
Portion:
Serves 6 as an appetiser or 3 as a main course.
— Ingredients
— Bell Pepper Sauce
• 5 g butter
• 1 tbsp shallots, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, roasted
• 2½ yellow bell peppers, roasted and peeled
• 50–60 ml chicken stock
• 2 kaffir lime leaves, bruised
• salt and white pepper, to taste
— Lemongrass Relish
• ¼ tsp shrimp paste, toasted
• ¼ tsp salt
• 3 tbsp shallots, finely sliced
• 2 tbsp lemongrass, finely sliced
• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 3 tbsp Lombok chillies (or red chillies), finely sliced
• 1 lemon leaf (or any edible lime leaf), finely sliced
• ½ lemo lime (or any fragrant lime)
• salt, to taste
— Fish
• 480 g king snapper fillets, 6 x 80 g or 3 x 160 g portions
• 60 g fresh tempeh (freeze for 6 hours before use)
• salt and white pepper, to taste
• 1 tbsp salad oil
• 1 tbsp shallots, chopped
• 2 pinches thyme leaves
• 10 g butter, unsalted
• sea salt, to taste
— Asian Greens
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 tbsp salad oil
• 1 tbsp ginger, julienned
• 1 tbsp garlic, finely sliced
• 2 tsp white sesame seeds
• 100 g yellow bell peppers, roasted, peeled and diced into
1 x 1 cm cubes
• 100 g red bell peppers, roasted, peeled and diced into
1 x 1 cm cubes
• 200 g bok choy, stems cut into batonnets, then blanched
until al dente; leaves sliced raw
• 50 g edamame beans, blanched and peeled
• 50 g baby corn, cut in segments and blanched
• 2 tbsp soya sauce
• 1 tbsp chives, sliced
• salt and white pepper, to taste
— Garnish
• 6 fresh herb sprigs of your choice
— Method
To make the sauce, melt the butter in a pan over medium heat. Add the shallots and garlic. Saute until the shallots turn translucent. Add the bell peppers and chicken stock, and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat, and process in a blender until smooth. Strain and pour the sauce back into the pan.
Bring to the boil again and add the lime leaves. Take off the heat, set aside and allow it to infuse; don’t remove the lime leaves as you want to extract as much flavour as you can from the leaves. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and set aside.
For the relish, crumble the shrimp paste and salt together in a bowl. Please note: these steps must be followed precisely in order to achieve the correct balance of flavours. Add the shallots, lemongrass and coconut oil. Combine for a minute using your fingers in a light rubbing motion. Add the chilli and mix well by hand for another minute. Add the lime leaf and mix for another 30 seconds. Then squeeze in the juice of the half lime and throw the entire lime half into the mixture. Do a final toss and adjust the seasoning. Set aside.
Next, prepare the fish crust. Grate the frozen tempeh and coat one side of the fish fillets with the grated tempeh, to form a 3 mm crust. Season the fish with salt and pepper on both sides. Heat the oil in a pan until lightly smoking. Place the fillets, tempeh side down, into the oil. Sear the tempeh until it is golden-brown and no longer sticks to the bottom of the pan. Turn the fillets over, cooking them until they are done to your liking (at Mozaic we serve our fish rare). Just before the fish is done, add the butter, shallots and thyme, and baste the fish with the melted butter. Remove from the pan and drain on paper towels. Season with sea salt.
To stir-fry the Asian greens, heat the salad oil and half the sesame oil in a saute pan or wok. Add the ginger and garlic, stir-frying until they are lightly browned. Add the sesame seeds and brown them lightly. Add all the vegetables and mix well. Add the soya sauce, and cover the pan with a lid for a minute or until the vegetables have wilted. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add the chives and remaining sesame oil, and give the greens a final toss. Dish them out immediately, leaving the sauce behind in the wok. Raise the heat and reduce the sauce until it’s quite thick.
To serve, make a circle of the yellow bell pepper sauce in the centre of each plate. Pile some vegetables in the centre of each circle. Drizzle the vegetable sauce around the plate. Top the vegetables with a piece of fish and a spoonful of the lemongrass relish. Garnish with a fresh herb sprig and serve immediately.
— Tip:
Be careful when searing the fish on its tempeh-crusted side. The tempeh has a tendency to fall apart and stick to the pan, so make sure the oil is just starting to smoke before you put the fish in. Also, avoid moving the fish around the pan until the tempeh has turned a nice golden-brown and doesn’t stick to the pan anymore. Don’t overcook tempeh as it will develop a bitter flavour.
