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Whitebait in fish sauce caramel (nahm pla waan pla tort)
Serves 2 Starters and mains
Ingredients
- sweet fish sauce, to taste (see recipe linked)
- 5tbsp rice flour
- 1tsp salt
- 1tsp caster sugar
- 300g fresh or frozen whitebait or other small fish such as sprats
- vegetable oil, for deep-frying
- 1tsp Thai chilli powder (prik bon)
- 1 lime, cut into wedges, to serve
Method
Remove the sauce from the fridge 1 hour before using to allow the caramel to come to room temperature, or warm it gently in a pan until you have a pouring consistency.
When you’re ready to cook, combine the rice flour, salt and caster sugar in a large bowl. Add the whitebait or other fish and toss well until coated in the flour mixture.
Pour the oil for deep-frying into a large wok or deep pan to a depth of 10cm and heat until the oil reaches 170C on a cook’s thermometer. Alternatively, drop a small cube of bread into the hot oil; if it turns golden brown in about 20 seconds, the oil is ready.
Deep-fry the fish, in batches, for 5 minutes. The idea is to ‘hard-fry’ the whole fish so that they become very crispy and can be eaten whole. Remove and drain well on a plate lined with paper towels.
Transfer the fried fish to a large bowl and drizzle the sweet fish sauce over, then sprinkle the chilli powder over. Toss the fried fish until well coated, then transfer to a serving plate with the lime wedges to squeeze over.
This recipe featured in the June 2022 issue of Food and Travel. To subscribe today, click here.
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