fried red snapper + scotch bonnet shallot fish sauce

I caught this snapper on the Pacific Town Club Hooky fishing trip!

Last weekend I co-hosted a fishing trip with Pacific Town Club and about 30 hot saucies & my girls pulled up! Thank you guys so much for coming and I hope you guys had a great time!

I caught 3 red snappers and one rock fish so I was hype! I left one big snapper whole and had them filet the rest.

One thing about me is I loveeeeee a whole fish! If it’s on the menu, I will order it!

This recipe is kind of a fusion of Caribbean Escovitch & a nod to a Vietnamese dipping sauce Nuoc Cham. It’s spicy, tangy and full of umami.

The sauce uses fish sauce as the base, which I LOVE and is a secret weapon in my pantry. Fish sauce is funky af…it’s amazing! It’s fermented shrimp (or fish) and is used in lots of Asian dishes for umami flavor + savoriness in your mouth!

Hope you guys try it!

Ingredients

• 1 whole red snapper, skin scored

• kosher salt & fresh cracked black pepper

• about 1/4 cup avocado oil for shallow frying

• optional sides: white rice

Scotch Bonnet Shallot Fish Sauce

• 1 scotch bonnet (or habanero), finely chopped

  • hot saucie tip: this sauce is spicy! If you don’t want that spicy but just spicy enough, use a red fresno pepper or if you want to use the scotch bonnet remove a lot of the seeds because the seeds carry the spice!

  • hot saucie tip: BE VERY CAREFUL when chopping the pepper, after it’s chopped, do not touch your eyes and immediately wash your hands.

• 2 lemons, juiced

• 1 lime, juiced

• 1 teaspoon white sugar

• 1 tablespoon fish sauce

  • hot saucie tip: my fave brand is Red Boat fish sauce! Available at lots of grocery stores like Whole Foods & online.

• about 1/3 cup of cilantro leaves

• 1 shallot, thinly sliced or sliced on a mandolin

  • hot saucie tip: submerge the sliced shallots in iced water so they stay crispy & takes away the harsh onion bite but keeps the flavor

• kosher salt & fresh cracked black pepper, to taste

Tools

• tongs

• paper towels

• cast iron pan

• prep mixing bowls

• whisk

• mandolin

• chef’s knife

• citrus juicer

Directions

1. Pat the fish dry with a paper towel & season the fish with salt and pepper.

2. Prep the scotch bonnet shallot sauce: Add the lemon & lime juice in a prep mixing bowl and thoroughly whisk in the sugar so it dissolves, then add in your fish sauce & scotch bonnet pepper and season with salt & pepper.

3. Until you’re just about to serve your whole fried fish, then add in your shallots & cilantro as you don’t want them to get soggy but still be crisp & fresh!

4. In a large cast iron pan, big enough for your fish, add a good amount of avocado oil on medium heat and let it heat up. Add your fish and cook it for 4-5 minutes each side. Depending how big your fish is and your stove, it may need to be longer!

   1. hot saucie tip: any protein will naturally release from the pan when it’s ready, if it doesn’t release and it still sticks then it’s not ready.

5. Top your fried fish with lots of the scotch bonnet shallot fish sauce and enjoy with a side of rice!