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Monday, April 27, 2009

Sweet & Sour "See"-Food



Who doesn't love Chinese food? In my every attempt to somewhat healthify whatever I eat, I made some Sweet and Sour "See"-Food. Get it? "See"-food. (insert brief pause. *crickets*) Because you see before you eat. Anyway, it's actually catfish and tiger prawns, but what the heck. Clever, eh?

Traditionally, the "meat" is covered in a tempura-like batter and deep-fried. But I used my usual breading procedure and baked it in the oven instead. It tastes like from a restaurant. Looks like it can be from a restaurant. My kitchen is my restaurant. My dining table is, well, my dining table sans lazy susan.

If you do want to go the more traditional route, you can use cube-chopped pork, beef or chicken. Deep-dry it with an all-purpose flour and cornstarch coating. It just so happens that I saw some fresh looking seafood at the market and went for it.

This is my entry to LK's (Healthy Delicious) Meat-Free Friday Roundup/

Btw, that's me holding the chopsticks. Not fun trying to snap the photos left-handed while trying to hold a piece of fish between two sticks. There's not much room for a tripod. LOL.



Sweet & Sour "See"-Food

Baked Catfish & Prawns:

1 large catfish fillet (cut to 2" pieces)
1/2 lb jumbo prawns (your choice of species - deveined and shelled)
2 Eggs
1/2 c Milk
4 Tbsp All-Purpose Four
1 1/2 c panko crumbs
Salt & Pepper to season


Sweet & Sour Sauce:

Sweet & Sour Sauce (my recipe click here)
1 red bell pepper (chopped)
1 yellow bell pepper (chopped)
1/2 small onion (quartered)
1 8oz can pineapple chucks w/juice


Note: the juice in the pineapple chucks will substitute for the juice that's called for in the original recipe. No need to extra.

Preheat oven 325˚F

In three separate containers: 1-all purpose flour. 2-eggs and milk beaten together (seasoned with a little salt. 3-panko crumbs

Before breading, season the fish and prawns with salt and pepper. Then coat each piece with the flour, egg, then panko. In that order. Place on a baking sheet or pan.

Bake for 30 min. Flip the fish and prawns half way through to get an even browning.

Saute the bell peppers and onions in a saucepan until peppers are slightly tender and the onions are limp and transparent. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside in a dish.

Cook the sweet and sour sauce in a large saucepan minus the pineapple juice.

Bring it to a simmer on low heat then add in the bell peppers, onions and pineapple chunks plus juice. Stir to combine.

When the fish and shrimp are done baking let them cool for 5-10 minutes before adding them to the sweet and sour sauce. Then gently stir them in coating each piece and mixing it with the bell peppers and onions.

Serve with a bowl of steamed or fried-rice.



32 comments:

Christo Gonzales said...

boy does this look good....and good job on the camera/chopstick juggle.

Sweta (My Indian Dietitian) said...

What a clever idea-looks like you are planning to gift me a healthy 'must try' recipe bank ;)
Saves me all the trouble trying to do it myself!!

Jen @ MyKitchenAddiction.com said...

Looks very tasty! You did very well with the chopsticks and camera - much better than I typically do!

The Duo Dishes said...

It's not often that folks use catfish, so it's awesome to see how you've incorporated it with prawns. Such totally different flavors of seafood. Nice.

vanillasugarblog said...

oh my gosh! damn girl that sounds too good.
I am so hungry right now. Love this!

Heather S-G said...

mmmmm...I see food and I want food! This looks delicious...had to laugh at your mad photo-snapping skills (I do it the same way...sometimes it takes a few tries)!! Delicious :)

teresa said...

I love love love it, and I'm all about baking vs. frying too! This looks incredible!

Kelly said...

That looks really good! The sweet and sour sauce is very close to what my mother-in-law from Taiwan makes. I love to oven-fry. I do it with fish and chicken all the time. Now, I need to try it with shrimp.

Admin said...

Now this is something I don't want to just see, I want to devour too.

alice said...

I like sweet and sour a lot. I wonder if they have this dish in China or if this is one of those types of dishes that Chinese restaurants here created for the American palette?

Anonymous said...

Oh wow. I love sweet and sour anything. I laughed at your corny joke, I tried a joke in my recent tapas post, nobody got it.


Eric

Jenn said...

doggy: Thanks. It took a bit of patience before I managed to take a nice shot.

Sweta: Thanks

Jen: I actually drop the fish the first time. Luckily it landed on the plate beneath it.

Duo Dishes: I love catfish.

Dawn: Glad you love it.

girlichef: haha...the mad things we food bloggers do to get the shot. =)

teresa: 90% oven all the way for me

kelly: That's a recipe I learned from my mom.

leela: Temping ain't it.

alice: you know...that's a good question. I'm sure they may have something similar.

eric: Glad you got my corny job. lol

Diana said...

Hmm.... I sort of like the idea of having a Lazy Susan on my table. I love those suckers! :)

Anonymous said...

i love the picture with the chopsticks! The sweet and sour sauce sounds excellent with the seafood!

Debbie said...

That looks absolutely delicious! I love catfish and would definitely like to try it this way....

Jenn said...

Diana: Lazy susans are fun.

5 Star Foodie: Thanks. =)

Debbie: Hello fellow catfish lover. =)

lisaiscooking said...

Sounds delicious. And, much healthier than the version I would order in a restaurant!

Anonymous said...

No cricket sounds here - very clever and the dish looks delish Cannot wait to try!

chow and chatter said...

looks great adore chinese, fav place is china town in nyc!

tavolini said...

That looks really good! Super props to the camera/chopstick photo ;)

Does the prawn get overcooked at all? I've never done them in the oven.

Definitely a recipe worth trying!

Jenn said...

lisaiscooking: definitely!

Oyster Culture: Thanks.

Chow and Chowder: I love Chinese also.

TavoLini: The prawns get the right amount of tenderness to them. not rubbery at all. It also depends on the oven, too, as some have different settings especially with older ovens.

curiousdomestic said...

That looks really good. I love catfish, too.

Anonymous said...

Dear Jenn!
Greetings!
Although catfish is abundant in Jpane, we practucally never see it in the markets or restaurants!
Wonder why...
Great posting!
Cheers,
Robert-Gilles

Jenn said...

curiousdomestic: Thanks.

Robert-Gilles: You think that it'd be on every dinner table in Japan.

portugueseflavours said...

I like very much your blog. This recipe looks very good.
Cheers,

Anonymous said...

hahaha! oh...you crack me up! you're a witty one, you! and a terrfic cook!

Pam said...

This looks wonderful. I've been looking for a tasty sweet and sour sauce and yours looks perfect.

Jenn said...

sophie: thanks!

portugueseflavors: Thank you for visiting!

burpandslurp: lol. Thanks!

pam: Hope you enjoy making it!

Unknown said...

I love that this is baked - such a nice alternative to most sweet & sour recipes. And it looks absolutely delicious!

Jenn said...

ValleyWriter: baked is the new fry! LOL.

www.lamparas.biz said...

It cannot truly have success, I believe so.

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