To celebrate the fact that oil prices are getting slightly more reasonable, we’ve decided to deep fry some stuff! We have been haunted by the idea of agrodolce for a while now. Agrodolce is a traditional Italian sweet and sour sauce, often paired with fish or meat.
If you’ve followed us for a while, you’ll know that we had to alter the traditional recipe because that’s what we always do.
So we decided not only to play with the agrodolce recipe but also to marry it with some crispy fried squirrel tail fish, a Chinese fish dish from Suzhou that usually comes with – wait for it – sweet and sour sauce.
This dish is proper fusion food, as we paired two traditional cuisines, but we kept the essence of fish with sweet and sour sauce.
We also added some puntarelle, a relative of the better-known chicory, for some extra crunch and bitterness to balance the sauce’s sweetness.
Ingredients for making squirrel tail fish with agrodolce:
- ½ tsp fennel seeds
- 1 dried chili, crushed
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 small red onions, sliced thin
- 120 g red wine vinegar
- 30 g brown sugar
- Salt
- ½ head of puntarelle, sliced fine (you can substitute for chicory)
- Handful grapes, halved
- Handful mint leaves
- Salt
- 2 filets of fish, about 120 g each (we used hake, sea bass is another excellent option)
- 1 egg, beaten
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- Salt
- Oil for deep frying
How to make the squirrel tail fish with agrodolce:
Start by making the agrodolce sauce.
Toast the fennel seeds and chili for 1 minute. Add the oil, followed by the onions and some salt. Saute for 3 minutes until slightly softened. Add vinegar and sugar and simmer for 5-7 minutes. Add the puntarelle and saute for 2-3 minutes. It should retain most of its crunch. Add the grapes and saute for 1 more minute.
Cut the fish on the meat side in a crisscross pattern, creating 0.5*0.5 cm squares. Rinse in water to accent the cut. Salt the fish, then dip it in the egg, wiping off any excess. Rub with cornstarch, making sure it’s all covered but without any lumps.
Heat oil in a wok or deep pan. Add the fish slowly, cut-side down, swing it back and forth in the oil, then let it drop. Use a spoon to baste the fish with oil. After about 3 minutes, turn the fish. Make sure it’s evenly golden by spooning over some more hot oil, then fish it out after another minute on this side. Pat dry with paper towels, then place on a serving plate, spooning over the agrodolce. Sprinkle mint leaves on top.
Squirrel Tail Fish With Agrodolce
Ingredients
Agrodolce Sauce:
- ½ tsp fennel seeds
- 1 dried chili crushed
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 small red onions sliced thin
- 120 g red wine vinegar
- 30 g brown sugar
- Salt
- ½ head of puntarelle sliced fine (you can substitute for chicory)
- Handful grapes halved
- Handful mint leaves
- Salt
Squirrel Tail Fish:
- 2 filets of fish about 120 g each (we used hake, sea bass is another excellent option)
- 1 egg beaten
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- Salt
- Oil for deep frying
Instructions
- Toast the fennel seeds and chili for 1 minute. Add the oil, followed by the onions and some salt. Saute for 3 minutes until slightly softened. Add vinegar and sugar and simmer for 5-7 minutes. Add the puntarelle and saute for 2-3 minutes. It should retain most of its crunch. Add the grapes and saute for 1 more minute.
- Cut the fish on the meat side in a crisscross pattern, creating 0.5*0.5 cm squares. Rinse in water to accent the cut. Salt the fish, then dip it in the egg, wiping off any excess. Rub with cornstarch, making sure it’s all covered but without any lumps.
- Heat oil in a wok or deep pan. Add the fish slowly, cut-side down, swing it back and forth in the oil, then let it drop. Use a spoon to baste the fish with oil. After about 3 minutes, turn the fish. Make sure it’s evenly golden by spooning over some more hot oil, then fish it out after another minute on this side. Pat dry with paper towels, then place on a serving plate, spooning over the agrodolce. Sprinkle mint leaves on top.
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