Bream with fried chilies and garlic

Ingredients for 1 servings:

• 1 fish (bream)
• 2 tbsp tapioca flour or other food starch
• lots of oil (peanut or soybean oil) for frying
• 6 garlic cloves
• 6 chili peppers (long-red Thai chili peppers)
• 10 g tamarind paste (pressed tamarind)
• 6 tbsp water, warm
• 150 g tomatoes
• 1 small onion(s), red
• 1 tbsp curry paste, red
• 2 tbsp palm sugar, crushed
• ½ tsp salt
• 2 tbsp oil (peanut or soybean oil)
• 2 tbsp fish sauce

Instructions

Working time approx. 40 minutes; Total time approx. 40 minutes

Soak the tamarind in 6 tablespoons of water for about 20 minutes. Wash the tomatoes and peel the red onion. Finely chop both. First, roughly crush the diced onion with salt, palm sugar, and curry paste in a mortar and pestle. Finally, stir in the tomatoes and mash them lightly. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a non-stick pan. Fry the mixture from the mortar and pestle until it begins to smell aromatic. Strain the tamarind liquid into the pan, mix well, and simmer for about 3 minutes. Season with the fish sauce. Deseed the chilies and finely slice lengthwise. Peel and slice the garlic. Pat the prepared bream dry and make three light diagonal cuts. Coat with the sifted tapioca flour. Heat plenty of peanut oil in a wok over medium heat. Deep-fry the chili strips and garlic until the garlic is golden yellow. Remove and place on a paper towel. Increase the heat in the wok. Once the oil is hot enough, fry the bream in the flavored oil for about 5 minutes on each side. Arrange on a platter and serve with the sauce.