Friday, September 21, 2012

What's Cooking: Baked Fish-au-Gratin

 All right, not the best picture of the finished product, I admit..it's supposed to look something like the picture below, but due to unseen circumstances (in this case, the grumbling stomachs shouting WE'RE HUNGRYYYY!!!) , this was all I got. :/. Nevertheless, I assure you, this is one yummy fishy recipe.


First thing's first. You need fish (malamang diba? ;) ). Any large white fish will do, but for me, I prefer Red Snapper or Lapu-lapu, around a kilo. You also need around 1/2 cup of melted butter, calamansi juice, salt and pepper for the fish marinade. Lastly, you'll need a cup of breadcrumbs, 1/4 cup chopped parsley, 2 tbsp garlic and a cup of cheese (quickmelt works really nicely), 1/4 cup melted butter and again, calamansi juice for the fish's breading mix. I didn't specify the amount of the citric juice since I'll leave that up to your tastes buds. Personally, I like using an ample amount since I love the tang of it, it contrasts really well with the butter. It makes it less nakakaumay for me.

Marinade your fish (no I wasn't using Red Snapper for this batch, I couldn't find any big ones in the market), with the butter, calamansi juice,salt and pepper mixture for at least 4 hours. Opting for overnight will do wonders with the absorption though.
And then, generally coat your fish with the breadcrumbs mixture. Do not add the melted butter and juice with the crumbs though. Coat the fish first and then use the liquid to solidify it. Kind of like packing sand when making a castle in the beach :)

Bake for 30 mins or until it's golden brown. And then voila!

Photo credits to Chef Google.

This got me and my family hooked. The buttery yet citric kick the calamansi juice gives just goes so well. And of course, the crunchy exterior with all the cheesy, garlicky goodness didn't hurt either. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do!


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