Thai people love to eat fish whole! You'll often spot these salt crusted fish being sold on the streets of Thailand, and here's a recipe that shows you how you can recreate it at home. The salt helps retain the moisture in the fish which makes the fish so incredibly juicy!! Along with the wonderful aroma of Thai herbs, this is the perfect fish for any holiday table.
You can also serve this fish as a lettuce wrap, simply sub out the mackerel for the salt crusted fish in this mackerel lettuce wrap recipe.
This method works with any kind of fish you like, as long as they're not too small, otherwise it can become too salty. I'm using ocean perch in this video.
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Baked Salt-Crusted Fish ปลาเผาเกลือ
- Yield: Serves 2-3
Ingredients
- 1 whole white fish, at least 2 lb, gutted, preferably scales left on (see note)
- 8 rounds galangal
- 1 stalk lemongrass, bottom half only, smashed and cut into chunks
- 5 Kaffir lime leaves
- 10 inches pandan leaves
- 5 cloves garlic
- About 3 Tbsp of kosher salt or coarse grain salt, or as needed
Note: Traditionally the scale is left on the fish which will prevent the salt from absorbing and over-salting the meat. To buy scale-on fish you have to go to a fishmonger that would scale the fish to-order, and ask them to leave the scales on. You CAN do it without the scales, but the salt will penetrate and season the flesh all the way through, so be light-handed with the salt or it could become too salty.
Dipping Sauce
- 3-4 dried chilies, to taste
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 Tbsp palm sugar, finely chopped
- 2 Tbsp roasted peanuts, unsalted
- 2 Tbsp lime juice
- 2 Tbsp tamarind juice
- 2 Tbsp Fish sauce
- 2 Tbsp finely chopped cilantro
- 2 Tbsp finely chopped mint
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Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Add all the herbs to a food processor and process just until they're coarsely chopped. Stuff the herbs into the cavity of the fish.
Rub a thin layer of salt onto the fish; the body should be thoroughly coated but the salt should be thin enough that you can still see through to the skin. Place the fish onto a baking sheet lined with a rack (I didn't do this in the video because I didn't have a rack big enough, but if you have one it'll be better.) Otherwise line the baking sheet with parchment paper.
Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the fish is fully cooked. To test doneness, try to life the thickest part of the fish off the bones, and cooked fish should flake off the bones easily, while undercooked fish will stick to the bones. You can also use a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the fish, and it should read at least 140°F before removing from the oven.
Meanwhile, make the dipping sauce. Place the dried chilies in the oven along with the fish and let it toast for 3-4 minutes until they darken and are crispy. You can also toast them in a dry saute pan over medium heat. Place them in a mortar and pestle and pound into flakes (if you want less spicy, remove the seeds first.)
Add garlic and pound into a paste. Add palm sugar and pound until dissolved. Add peanuts and pound until they are a coarse meal. Add all remaining ingredients and stir to mix.
When the fish is done, brush off the excess salt from the fish and transfer onto a serving plate. Peel off the skin and serve with jasmine rice and dipping sauce. Enjoy!
Lori says
This is the ONLY salt-crusted baked fish recipe that I use. The sauce is phenomenal!
Ingo says
Love this recipe!