Tempura Monkfish Cheeks with Nuoc Cham

By Thefoodiecoupleblog

Food box subscriptions are getting a little bit silly at the moment. There’s so many out there it can be tempting to keep signing up, especailly as the welcome offers are often so appealing and enticing. But after the initial ‘50% off’ or ‘first month free’ offers wear off you can run the risk of paying a lot of money for things you really don’t get the use out of. A couple of months ago I felt I was falling into this category so had a serious ‘subscription box clear out’ and cancelled them all. Except one. Coast & Glen Fishbox survived the cut because it really was the only one I felt was well worth the money.

I love the friday each month when it arrives and I can see what fishy treats it has in store for us. It also means I rarely need to buy any other fish unless I have a specific recipe in mind.  The last delivery brought us amongst other things some monkfish cheeks so on went my recipe head, and this is what it decided to  do. Some posh scampi, if you will! I love Nuoc Cham dipping sauce and make it probably at least once a week, whether it’s for something like this or to use as a salad dressing, and the huge plus of it – its pretty healthy.

Serves 2

Ingredients

For the monkfish:

  • 4 monkfish cheeks, cut into roughly 1-1.5inch pieces
  • 85g of plain flour (+ a little extra to dust the monkfish)
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • 1 tbsp of cornflour
  • 200ml of sparkling water, chilled
  • dash cider vinegar
  • oil for frying ( we have a counter top fryer, but you could use a deep wok if you don’t have this

For the Nuoc Cham:

  • 2 garlic cloves – crushed
  • 1 red chilli finely sliced
  • Juice 2 limes
  • 2 tbsp fish sauce
  • 2 tbsp light brown sugar

Method

  1. Firstly make the Nuoc Cham by mixing all ingredient together in a bowl then set aside

  2. For the batter, whisk together the flours, bicarb and salt. When ready to cook whisk in the water and vinegar.

  3. Dust each piece monkfish in flour and shake off the excess, then dip in the batter

  4. Bring the oil up to temperature (about 180 degrees) and then gently drop in the pieces of fish. As the pieces are only small, they will only need about 2 minutes in the oil then spoon them out and onto some kitchen paper to drain.  Check one before eating to ensure cooked through.

  5.  Serve whilst still hot alongside the dipping sauce, and your choice of accompaniments, I like a nice green salad.

Happy Eating :)