The Saturday Paper

Deep-fried snapper wings with red curry sauce

- Time: 40 minutes preparatio­n and cooking

2. 3. 4. 5. 1 tbsp coconut oil

3 sprigs curry leaves, picked ½ medium red onion, finely diced

½-1 long red chilli, finely chopped 2 medium cloves garlic, finely chopped 2 tsp finely chopped ginger

1 tsp finely chopped lemongrass salt flakes and black pepper

1 tbsp Sri Lankan red curry powder 40g jaggery, chopped

2 ripe roma tomatoes, in a small dice 1 tsp tamarind concentrat­e vegetable oil for deep frying

6 snapper wings

60g besan flour picked coriander for garnish and lime cheeks for serving

Heat the coconut oil in a wide-based frypan over a medium heat and allow it to warm. Once it’s hot, add in the curry leaves (they may spit at you a little but don’t be alarmed), fry for a moment or so and then follow with the onions, chilli, garlic, ginger and lemongrass. Season well and cook, stirring occasional­ly until the onions are nicely cooked, they should be starting to look a little crisp (four to five minutes).

Add the curry powder and stir well for a few minutes (it will soon start catching at the base). At this stage add in the jaggery, keep stirring and allow the jaggery to melt and then caramelise (one to two minutes). By this stage the mix will be looking quite crunchy.

Add in the tomatoes, stir well and turn the heat back down a little. Let it simmer gently until the tomatoes have broken down (about four minutes).

At this stage the sauce will be paste-like. Add 200 millilitre­s of water and the tamarind concentrat­e and turn the heat to high. Let the sauce come to a boil and simmer for a minute or so. Have a taste for seasoning – the sauce should be hot, a little sticky, sweet and sour. Once you are happy, set aside.

Have your oil heating in a wok or widebased saucepan and heat to 170°C. Season your wings with salt and then completely cover them with the besan flour. Gently lower them into the oil and deep fry until they turn a deep golden brown (four to five minutes). You want to make sure the wings are completely immersed, so you may need to do this in two batches, give them a jiggle and turn them a few times.

Once cooked, remove the wings onto a cake rack and heat the sauce to a simmer. Place your fish wings onto a large serving plate and then spoon the sauce over the top. Garnish with a nice amount of coriander and serve with the lime.

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