Sri Lankan Devilled Fish

Sri Lankan Devilled Fish

                             Prep Time 15 min           Cook Time 20 min

Devilled fish is a must-try Sri Lankan dish that is very popular one

The recipe has a few steps. one, you marinate the fish and then
deep/shallow fry them. two, you have to make the sauce.
and finally, you have to mix everything with vegetables and aromatics.
It might sound complicated but trust me it’s very easy to make.

What kind of fish should I use?

Most common fish used is yellowfin tuna or skipjack tuna. The reason is tuna is a firm fish and doesn’t fall apart when you cook it twice. First by deep frying and then stir-frying. So choosing a Tuna variety for this dish is highly recommended. Better if you can get them skin on. So they don’t flake apart.

Which vegetables to use

Adding capsicum peppers and onions are a must for devilled chicken/ fish or any devilled dish. Many people add fresh tomatoes too. But if meal prepping or you’re going to keep the dish in the fridge for a long time you can skip adding tomatoes as they can ooze out the liquid.

Capsicum Peppers can be hard to find in some countries. You can substitute that with bell peppers or anaheim peppers would be a good choice too.

What to serve with

Hands-down the best menu for Sri Lankan devilled fish is fried rice, chopsuey, and chili paste.Goes well with Sri Lankan yellow rice as well..

Ingredients
Servings 4

To marinate fish
500 grams Tuna Fish (500g = 1.1lb)
2 teaspoons paprika or chili powder (use more if you like it hot)
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon water

Other
1 tablespoon coconut, avocado or canola oil (for stir-frying)
1 piece of cinnamon (preferably true Ceylon cinnamon)
6 cloves of garlic
1 inch piece of ginger
1 sprig of curry leaves
1/2 of a small pandan leaf broken into pieces
1 1/2 tablespoon chili flakes (reduce for less heat)
2 teaspoons Sri Lankan- chinese chili paste (substitute: Malaysian crispy prawn chili)
1 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground
1 large banana pepper
1/4 of a red onion

1 tomato
enough oil for deep frying fish
salt to your taste

Instructions
Marinate and fry fish
Cut tuna into large chunks (about 2 inches long cuboids)

Make the marinade with paprika or chili powder, black pepper, lime salt, and water. Add the fish pieces and mix to coat every piece with the marinade*. Be careful to do it gently as the fish pieces can break apart. Set it aside and let it marinate. (about 10 - 15 mins)

Heat enough oil to deep fry into a deep skillet. Wait until the oil is hot. Gently add fish pieces to the oil, and fry them until the edges start to turn golden and the fish is all the way cooked through*. Transfer fish to a paper towel-lined plate.

Making the devilled fish
Crush ginger and garlic in a mortar and pestle or chop them very finely. Cut capsicum peppers into rounds. Cut onion into large triangular pieces or rounds, and tomato into wedges.

Heat a medium size wok or a saute pan. Add oil and let the oil heat up. Add cinnamon stick, ginger, garlic, curry leaves, and pandan leaves. Saute until the garlic starts to turn golden on the edges

Add chili flakes, chili paste*, and black pepper. Saute for about 10 seconds or until chili flakes turn dark red

Add capsicum peppers and onions. Saute for another 10-15 seconds just mix it through.

Add fried fish pieces. Gently mix everything well. Adjust salt if needed.
Add tomatoes. Mix very lightly. You can serve the dish at this point*. Or proceed to the next step if you like to have more gravy.

If you like more gravy:
Add 1/2 cup of water and mix. Let the gravy heat up and when it starts to turn thick, turn off the heat. It will get thicker as it cools down. Do not simmer too long as it can overcook fish and vegetables.