Ingredients
- For the Salsa Criolla:
- 1 large red onion, very thinly sliced
- 2 medium plum tomatoes, diced
- ¼ cup loosely packed chopped flat leaf pasley leaves and tender stems
- 1 fresh aji amarillo pepper, stemmed, seeded, and minced
- 1 medium clove garlic, minced
- ¼ cup fresh juice from limes or lemons
- Kosher salt
- For the fried fish:
- Vegetable oil for deep frying
- 4 ½ cups all-purpose flour, divided
- ¾ cup cornflour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- 1 ½ cups Saison beer
- 250g firm white-fleshed fish, such as cod, cut into 2-3 cm pieces
Peruvian fried fish with lime-marinated onion and tomato salad (Jalea)
Method
- For the Salsa Criolla In a large bowl, toss onion, tomatoes, cilantro, aji amarillo, garlic, and lime juice together until well combined, season with salt
- Let it stand stirring occasionally, until onions soften slightly and turn a bright pink colour, about 10 minutes
- Drain well
- For the Fried Fish In a fryer, medium pot, or wok; heat oil to 180°c, adjusting to maintain temperature
- Add 1 ½ cups flour, the corn starch, baking powder, 1 ½ tsp salt, ¾ tsp ground black pepper, and paprika to a bowl
- Whisk to combine
- Add 1 ½ cups beer, whisking to form a thick batter (some small lumps of flour are okay)
- In a separate bowl, add remaining flour
- Dredge the fish in the flour, shake off the excess and transfer to beer batter, turning to coat
- Working 1 piece at a time, pick up the fish and allow excess batter to drip back into the bowl (a wire strainer can be helpful with this)
- Return it to the bowl of dry flour and quickly coat it on both sides
- Repeat with remaining fish
- Pick up the fish pieces with your hands, tossing them gently in your open fingers to get rid of excess flour
- In small batches, carefully lower into the hot oil and fry, agitating and turning frequently, until golden brown outside, about 3 minutes
- Transfer fish to large paper towel-lined mixing bowl and season with salt
- Mound the fish on a plate
- Arrange Salsa Criolla on top and serve immediately
Comments
Aji amarillo is a small yellow hot pepper popular in Peruvian cuisine. It can be difficult to find, but can easily be substituted with 1 small fresh Serrano chili, ½ red Fresno chili or jalapeño.
