Tasty crispy fried fish topped with aromatic garlic, ginger & chilli. This Chinese-inspired Salt and Pepper Fish is simple to create at home
Let’s fry some fish!
There was this local Chinese restaurant near our house that had hot trays of Salt and Pepper Wings. Fried golden crispy wings tossed with spring onions and chillies. Without tasting it, I knew I already loved it!
As predicted, I developed an addiction to these wings, and every time I stepped into that restaurant, I frantically looked for those wings.
You couldn’t imagine how excited I was when I discovered most Chinese restaurants offered many kinds of dishes with salt and pepper. I’ve tried salt and pepper prawns, squid, fish, chicken and tofu. They were all equally delicious!
I recently came across some beautiful-looking Snappers, and they were a perfect size. Usually, the ones I see are too large for my pan! So, I purchased a couple of them with this Salt and Pepper Fish recipe in mind.
Salt and Pepper fish may sound boring but it’s anything but! Just a few ingredients and watch this dish come to life and deliver big bold flavours. It’s one of those dishes where it’s so rewarding to see it come together. Seeing an entire fish fry and crisp up is exhilarating, well, for me at least. Then there’s that sensational smell of garlic, ginger, spring onions and chillies when it hits the oil.
The fish has a simple spice rub (Chinese five spice powder, salt and freshly ground pepper), then it’s dusted in cornflour and fried until crispy. It’s then topped with that beautifully aromatic fried spring onion and chillies. Simply delicious!
Chinese Style Salt and Pepper Fish
It feels quite special whenever I’m preparing a whole fish because I don’t do it often as I’m frightened of their bones.
My mum never bought fish fillets because they were too expensive, but she preferred cooking with whole fish, anyway. So, as young children, we quickly learnt how to navigate our way through a fish. This meant we had fishbones stuck in our throats a few times. Yeah, not fun, because it was like swallowing a needle!
This is why I am ultra paranoid when it comes to feeding fish to my toddler, Kai. Even when I am cooking with boneless fillets, I always triple-check for bones before feeding him.
Lucky us, these days fishmongers do the dirty work for us by gutting and scaling our fish. My mum did all this herself and I’m sure she still does! She would buy fish in bulk from the market and clean them all at once. What a trooper she is!
Why use freshly ground pepper? For dishes like this, where pepper is one of the main stars, I always take the time to grind whole peppercorns. Freshly ground pepper has a more vibrant ‘peppery’ flavour than store-bought ground pepper.
Why slash the fish? Slashing the fish serves a few purposes. We can place the spice rub in the slits, so it’ll make the fish more flavourful. Slashed fish will fry faster and it’s crispier. It’s also easier to serve the fish as the slits make it easy to pick up the flesh with a fork or chopstick.
More easy and tasty recipes with fish!
Chinese steamed fish
Salmon Ceviche with Passionfruit
Parmesan Crusted Fish
Fish with Pineapple Salsa
Ingredients for Salt and Pepper Fish
Whole fish – Use firm white fish such as snapper, bream, barramundi, or perch. Your fishmonger should be happy to gut, scale and clean the fish for you. If you have a large enough frying pan, you could get an entire fish that weighs approximately 1kg (2.2lb). If not, purchase 2 fish weighing around 500gms each (1.1lb).
Chinese five spice powder is an aromatic mix of ground spices used in many Chinese dishes. Five spice powders may include a combination of cinnamon, clove, star anise, fennel, ginger, and Sichuan peppercorns. Supermarkets usually stock their five spice powder in racks, amongst other herbs and spices.
Large green and red chillies – I used green and red cayenne chillies. They’re moderately spicy, so remove the seeds to lessen the heat.
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Watch how to make Salt and Pepper Fish
Written Step-by-step guide with photos
For the spice rub – Mix the five spice powder, salt and pepper in a small bowl and set aside.
Pat the entire fish dry with paper towels, then slash the fish diagonally to the bone 4 to 5 times on each side. Rub the fish with the spice rub, covering the entire fish and in between the slashed flesh. Coat the fish in flour, then shake off the excess flour.
Use a frying pan large enough to fit the entire fish, then pour enough oil to generously cover the base of the pan. Heat oil in the pan over medium-high until it reaches approximately 180°C (356°F). You could also use a wooden object such as a chopstick, skewer or wooden spoon to test the oil. Place the wooden object in the oil, and if the oil sizzles and bubble around it, then it’s hot enough to fry.
Fry each fish for 4 to 6 minutes on each side or until crispy (it may need longer if the fish is large). Before removing the fish, allow excess oil to drip back into the pan, then transfer the fish onto a wire rack.
For the spring onion and chilli topping – Heat oil in a small pan over medium-high heat (use leftover oil from frying the fish). Place in the garlic and ginger, and stir-fry for a minute. Add in the green and red chillies and stir for a minute, then add in the spring onions, sugar, salt and pepper. Stir-fry for 1 to 2 minutes or until the spring onions and chillies have slightly wilted. Place the chillies and green onions over the fried fish and serve immediately with warm rice.
Leftovers – Allow the fish to cool completely at room temperature, then transfer them into a sealed container and store them in the fridge for up to 2 to 3 days.
I’ve used a third-party application to calculate the calories and nutritional information, so please use this as an approximate guide only.
Cooking measurements are in Australian standard spoon and cup measurements. For specific details and conversions, visit our Australian Cooking Measurements page.
I would love your feedback and support if you made this recipe. To do this, please rate this recipe and provide a comment by scrolling down this page or by clicking that green circle on the bottom left. An email address is required (for spam), but it won’t be published. I would also love to see your dish, so don’t forget to tag me on my Instagram account ‘3catsfoodie’
Cheers – Cat T
Salt and Pepper Fish (Chinese style)
Ingredients
- 2 x 500gm whole fish (cleaned, scaled & gutted) (NOTE 1)
- ½ cup cornflour/cornstarch (may need more or less)
- vegetable oil for frying (or peanut/canola oil)
For the spice rub
- 1 tsp Chinese 5 spice powder (NOTE 2)
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
For the spring onion and chilli topping
- 2 tbsp oil (leftover oil used for frying fish)
- 6 cloves of garlic (minced)
- 2 tsp of finely grated ginger
- 1 large green chilli (thinly sliced) (NOTE 3)
- 1 large red chilli (thinly sliced) (NOTE 3)
- 2 stalks of spring onions (scallions/green onions, thinly sliced)
- ½ tsp sugar
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- For the spice rub – Mix the five spice powder, salt and pepper in a small bowl and set aside.
- Pat the entire fish dry with paper towels, then slash the fish diagonally to the bone 4 to 5 times on each side. Rub the fish with the spice rub, covering the entire fish and in between the slashed flesh. Coat the fish in flour, then shake off the excess flour.
- Use a frying pan large enough to fit the entire fish, then pour enough oil to generously cover the base of the pan. Heat oil in the pan over medium-high until it reaches approximately 180°C (356°F). You could also use a wooden object such as a chopstick, skewer or wooden spoon to test the oil. Place the wooden object in the oil, and if the oil sizzles and bubble around it, then it's hot enough to fry.
- Fry each fish for 4 to 6 minutes on each side or until crispy (it may need longer if the fish is large). Before removing the fish, allow excess oil to drip back into the pan, then transfer the fish onto a wire rack.
- For the spring onion and chilli topping – Heat oil in a small pan over medium-high heat (use leftover oil from frying the fish). Place in the garlic and ginger, and stir-fry for a minute. Add in the green and red chillies and stir for a minute, then add in the spring onions, sugar, salt and pepper. Stir-fry for 1 to 2 minutes or until the spring onions and chillies have slightly wilted. Place the chillies and green onions over the fried fish and serve immediately with warm rice.
