Sweet and Sour Tilapia is one of the most famous Filipino cuisines. This tasty recipe of fried fish smothered in a delightful sweet and sour vegetable sauce will have your mouth watering as soon as you hear that fish sizzle in the pan.

The delicious sweet and sour sauce, fish fried to perfection, and rice makes a perfect combination for any occasion.

Origin of Sweet and Sour Tilapia

The Sweet and Sour taste is commonly associated with Chinese cuisine, which used a combination of vinegars and sugars. The abundance of fish in the Philippines makes it one of the most popular foods of the region.

This style of serving fish in a sweet and sour sauce shares a similarity to the recipes for Escabeche. Escabeche is a meat or fish dish commonly found in Spanish, Portuguese, Filipino, and Latin American cuisines.

Groupers, also known as Lapu-Lapu are a abundant species of fish throughout the Philippines. Named after the Cebu's legendary chieftain Lapu-Lapu. Although these are the most popular fish for these sweet and sour recipes, you can use almost any species you choose. The fish can also be in fillets or fried whole. So many options!

Step-by-step Instructions

Step 1: Season fish with salt and fry.

Step 2: Sautè onion, garlic and ginger. Stir in carrots.

saute onion, garlic and giner to make sweet and sour tilapia

Step 3: Pour in sweet and sour sauce and dissolved cornstarch. Add bell peppers. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Step 5: Pour sauce over fried fish. Serve with rice and enjoy!

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Recipe

Sweet and Sour Tilapia

Kristel Baclaan

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Prep Time 15

Cook Time 15

Course Dinner, Lunch, Main Course

Cuisine asian, filipino

Servings 2 servings

Ingredients

1 whole Tilapia
½ cup red bell peppers julienned
1 medium carrots julienned
¼ cup ginger julienned
1 medium white onion strips
3 cloves garlic minced
½ cup oil for frying fish
1 teaspoon salt seasoning fish
⅓ cup vinegar
3 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch dissolved in ½ cup water
2 tablespoon ketchup

Instructions

Season fish with salt.
Heat oil in a frying pan and once oil is hot, fry fish one side of at a time until golden brown. Remove fish from pan and place it on a serving plate.
In over medium pan, heat 2 tablespoon of oil. Sautè onion, garlic and ginger.
Add carrots and stir.
In a separate mixing bowl, combine vinegar, sugar and ketchup. Pour in sauce and dissolved cornstarch.
Add bell peppers. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Let it simmer until sauce thickens. Stir occasionally.
Pour sauce over the fried fish. Serve and enjoy!