Ginger and fish, a surprisingly amazing combination! How to make Cambodian Trey Chean Chounfeatured

I LOVE ginger; it’s tangy and sweet with a little bite. However, I think ginger is one of those food item where either you love it, or you hate it. I obviously belong to the former; I can’t get enough of it. When I’m sick, I make my chicken soup with ginger and shitake mushroom. I boil some hot water and place a piece of ginger into it to make ginger green tea. Of course, with a little bit of manuka honey for sweetness and also for its health benefits. If I like cats and were to own one, I’ll probably name her ginger. I’ll introduce her to Cookie and smile diabolically as they clash. =)

Cambodian Fried Tilapia with Ginger and Salty Soy Beans (Trey Chean Choun)

The traditional khmer dish uses catfish, but Jose’s not a huge fan of it because of the smell so I usually use Tilapia which is one of our favourite fish. If you don’t want to use a whole fish, you can substitute it with fish fillet. If using a whole fish, make sure you slice the fish on each side so it fries faster.

1/2 - 1 cup of julienne ginger, more or less depending on your preference
6 cloves of garlic, minced
1 whole shallot, minced
5 tablespoon of salted soy beans
2 teaspoon of vinegar
2 teaspoon of fish sauce
salt and sugar to taste
Chopped green onion or cilantro for garnish (optional)

1 whole Tilapia or any fish
Potato starch (or any frying flour)
Peanut oil for frying (or corn)

Clean and wash your fish. Toss the fish with potato starch and pat it to press the flour tightly to the fish. Set aside for now.

In a large non-stick fry pan add enough peanut oil to deep fry the tilapia. Set the heat to medium and wait until it is hot enough to add the tilapia. Place the fish into the oil and deep fry for 8 – 10 minutes on each side, depending on the size of your fish. Remember, flip only once, you don’t want a greasy fish. Take the fish out once it’s golden brown, and place it onto a strainer to let the oil drip. I also use paper towels to pat the oil off the fish. Once you’re happy with the fish, place it onto a serving plate and set it aside for now.

Mix the vinegar and fish sauce in a bowl and set aside. In the same pan you used for frying the fish, take some oil out; you only need a small amount (1 or 2 tablespoon) to fry the spice ingredients. Heat the pan back up until hot, then add the minced garlic and shallot. Fry until the garlic is aromatic and brown, then add ginger. Stir for a bit first, and then add in the vinegar and fish sauce mix. Now add the salted soy beans. Stir some more to mix the flavourings. Taste it now and see if you want to add more salt, or sugar (if you want it a bit saltier or sweeter). Cook until the ginger is tender.

Add the ginger and soybean mixture on top of your fried fish and garnish with chopped green onion or cilantro/mint/basil. Enjoy!

Tips:

For the salted soy beans, look for one where it’s more soy bean than liquid, and make sure that the soy beans are whole and not too broken up.
If you want the ginger to be crispier, double fry it. Fry it in a little bit of oil on its own first, then set it aside to cool down while you do other things. Once you’re ready to make the ginger/soybean mixture, add it to the fried garlic and shallot once more.

I usually enjoy any fish dishes with a delicious hot fruit tea.

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