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Tilapia Baked in Tamarind Sauce

[heart_this] · Aug 5, 2008 · 49 Comments

Tilapia Baked in Tamarind Sauce

I had recently come across a jar of tamarind paste in the back of my fridge that I had picked up a while ago and hardly used. I wanted to experiment some more with the tamarind and while I was searching for recipes I came across this one for tilapia baked in a tamarind sauce which sounded really good. I like baking fish in sauces as they come out nice and moist full of the flavour of the sauce. This particular tamarind sauce is a Thai recipe. One of the things that I like the most about Thai recipes is that they tend to try to balance sweet, sour, spicy and salty. It is a god idea to sample the sauce after everything has been added to it and then tweak it to your tastes. The tilapia baked in tamarind sauce turned out really well! The tilapia was nice and moist and the tamarind sauce was really tasty. I served the tilapia with some coconut jasmine rice which provided a refreshing contrast to the flavourful tilapia. So far I have really been enjoying tamarind and I look forward to using it again.

Tilapia Baked in Tamarind Sauce

Tilapia Baked in Tamarind Sauce

Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 10 minutes Total Time: 25 minutes Servings: 1
ingredients
  • 1/2 tablespoon tamarind concentrate
  • 1 tablespoon water
  • 1 tablespoon lime juice
  • 1 tablespoon fish sauce
  • 1 tablespoon palm sugar (or brown sugar)
  • 1 teaspoon chili sauce
  • 1/2 teaspoon shrimp paste
  • 1 clove garlic (grated)
  • 1 teaspoon ginger (grated)
  • 1 tilapia fillet (of other white fish)
  • 1 green onion (sliced)
  • 1 red chili pepper (sliced)
directions
  1. Heat the tamarind, water, lime juice, fish sauce, palm sugar, chili sauce, shrimp paste, garlic and ginger in a small sauce pan and stir to combine.
  2. Taste test the sauce to ensure that the sweet, sour, salty and spicy aspects are balanced.
  3. Pour 1/2 of the sauce over the tilapia in a baking dish and make sure that the tilapia is fully coated in it.
  4. Cover with aluminum foil.
  5. Bake in a preheated 350F/180C oven until cooked, about 10-12 minutes.
  6. Serve with the remaining tamarind sauce, sliced green onions and red chillies.
Similar Recipes:
Tom Yum Baked Tilapia
Shrimp and Avocado in Tamarind Sauce
Tilapia Baked in Salsa Verde

Food, Gluten-free, Main Course, One-Pan, One-Pot, Recipe, Seafood, Shrimp, Thai

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Manggy says

    August 5, 2008 at 3:15 am

    This looks similar to another dish I love– but in that version, the (whole) fish is fried and the sauce is poured over after. This looks really good! 🙂 (I love combining sweet, salty, and sour 🙂

    Reply
  2. Beachlover says

    August 5, 2008 at 3:47 am

    oh!! love your tilapia!! I always add some chili paste into this dish..I’m surprise you can really eat asian dish which my hubby refused to touch at all!!..really admire your asian cooking skill:)

    Reply
  3. Anonymous says

    August 5, 2008 at 3:54 am

    Oh man, you’re a blogging machine! I can’t keep up with you. This looks extra delicious. I don’t have much experience cooking with tamarind, maybe i should give it a try too!

    Reply
  4. Elra says

    August 5, 2008 at 4:47 am

    Wow,
    I am totally drooling now. This is my favorite dish. I am so surprise that you like Tilapia. Most Asian love Tilapia, that’s why you see them a lot in Asian recipe.

    Reply
  5. Esi says

    August 5, 2008 at 4:50 am

    I love Tilapia! This looks amazing.

    Reply
  6. Shreya says

    August 5, 2008 at 5:27 am

    I am drooling at that pic. My mouth waters…tamarind effect! We make fish in tamarind too, but usually boil the fish in tamarind water instead of baking it with the paste…

    Reply
  7. [eatingclub] vancouver || js says

    August 5, 2008 at 5:46 am

    Great-looking tilapia! Sure looks delicious.

    Reply
  8. noble pig says

    August 5, 2008 at 5:48 am

    What a beautiful dish! Love thr sound of that sauce.

    Reply
  9. Peabody says

    August 5, 2008 at 6:15 am

    Looks fantastic. Tamarind is highly underrated. It’s great.

    Reply
  10. Mochachocolata Rita says

    August 5, 2008 at 6:26 am

    well done, and this is my version of tamarind grilled fish 🙂
    http://mochachocolatarita.blogspot.com/2008/07/tamarind-grilled-snapper-with-noodles.html

    Reply
  11. Gigi says

    August 5, 2008 at 6:30 am

    I have had tamarind many many times but never savory. This looks really good and interesting!

    Reply
  12. Anonymous says

    August 5, 2008 at 6:34 am

    Wow….this looks so good! I am sure the tamarind sauce tasted yummy!

    Reply
  13. HoneyB says

    August 5, 2008 at 7:14 am

    looks and sounds delicious!

    Reply
  14. daphne says

    August 5, 2008 at 8:27 am

    Ahh. tamarind! That looks sour n spicy. Wonderful!

    Reply
  15. Dee says

    August 5, 2008 at 8:48 am

    Ooh, this would be amazing piled onto a plate of steamed rice. Yum! It’s raining outside, and this sounds perfect for dinner tonight. If only…

    Reply
  16. Jeena says

    August 5, 2008 at 9:10 am

    Tamarind and fish are so delicious together, I love the presentation. 🙂

    Reply
  17. Carmen says

    August 5, 2008 at 12:55 pm

    Lovely! I have plenty of tamarind to use up as well, so I’ll try this. 🙂

    Reply
  18. Ben says

    August 5, 2008 at 1:26 pm

    Oh tamarind! I am addicted to the stuff. Especially raw out of the pod. On my goodness.

    Reply
  19. noobcook says

    August 5, 2008 at 2:00 pm

    now you are cooking thai! *applause* This looks so good and flavourful 🙂

    Reply
  20. Cynthia says

    August 5, 2008 at 2:53 pm

    I just barely got through the black berry post and now you’ve zapped me with the talapia and tamarind. Have mercy on me! 😀

    Reply
  21. Cheryl says

    August 5, 2008 at 3:18 pm

    I hate fish but I would snarf that up in a minute! Excellent!

    Reply
  22. tigerfish says

    August 5, 2008 at 3:37 pm

    Sounds like something really easy!

    Reply
  23. Claud says

    August 5, 2008 at 3:46 pm

    Hi! I really like your blog… you seem to have great ability in cooking!

    Reply
  24. Pam says

    August 5, 2008 at 3:59 pm

    This looks really delicious Kevin. Another great recipe to try.

    Reply
  25. cakewardrobe says

    August 5, 2008 at 4:28 pm

    Looks awesome! I love thai food!

    Reply
  26. Deborah says

    August 5, 2008 at 4:31 pm

    That is a gorgeous plate of food!

    Reply
  27. Anonymous says

    August 5, 2008 at 5:08 pm

    Beautiful Presentation!

    Reply
  28. Jenny says

    August 5, 2008 at 5:49 pm

    What a gorgeous recipe Kevin! It looks so delicious!

    Reply
  29. Anonymous says

    August 5, 2008 at 7:32 pm

    Kevin, your recipe is first class for a delicately-flavored fish that I and my wife love.

    BUT, I hope that you (and your readers) are aware of the dangers of eating tilapia imported from fish farms in china.

    Many supermarkets (such as Food Lion), and some fish “markets”, sell the tilapia for as little as $2.99 per pound, and the price is very enticing.

    We are very careful to examine the source of our tilapia before purchasing it.

    We would urge your readers to research the dangers of purchasing tilapia imported from china.

    Reply
  30. Anonymous says

    August 5, 2008 at 8:14 pm

    I’ve been visiting your page regularly for months, and I finally had to leave a message..

    Your blog makes me hungry everytime, and gives me motivation to try new things. Seriously. Thank you for being an inspiration, and greetings from Italy 🙂

    Reply
  31. Zita says

    August 5, 2008 at 9:12 pm

    Great dish, beautiful ,maybe next time you could try to bake it in banana leaves, you’ll be surprise, how it’ll taste.

    If you marinate fish with tamarine it’ll give this beautiful colour when you (quickly)deep fried.

    Reply
  32. Nate-n-Annie says

    August 5, 2008 at 9:19 pm

    Very nicely presented.

    Do you have any more leftover tamarind?

    Reply
  33. Dragon says

    August 5, 2008 at 9:32 pm

    I bet it tasted wonderful with the coconut rice. Looks amazing.

    Reply
  34. Corinne says

    August 5, 2008 at 10:55 pm

    We’ve been trying to eat fish once a week (to no avail since we’ve had the little one for the summer) This looks like something I could attempt… they sell whole tamarind pods at our market.
    Love your new logo by the way 🙂

    Reply
  35. Lida says

    August 6, 2008 at 12:55 am

    how does all your food manage to look so good? been reading your blog for a while and I’m a big fan– I definitely want to branch out and just cook a lot of random stuff.
    since i’m just starting a food blog…. how do you link websites you like on your site?

    Reply
  36. una donna dolce says

    August 6, 2008 at 1:46 am

    Yum… this looks great Kevin!

    Reply
  37. oggi says

    August 6, 2008 at 1:50 am

    I love this dish, looks really delicious!

    Reply
  38. amandalouden says

    August 6, 2008 at 3:56 am

    Where did you find the Tamarind paste?

    Reply
  39. Rosa's Yummy Yums says

    August 6, 2008 at 12:21 pm

    That dish looks terribly good! Wonderful! I love the flavor of tamarind…

    Cheers,

    Rosa

    Reply
  40. Kevin says

    August 6, 2008 at 12:28 pm

    lida: It looks like you are using blogger so: Go to the layout tab -> Choose Add a Page Element -> Choose Link List -> Add the website names and links -> Save

    amandalouden: I found the tamarind paste at a local Asian grocery store.

    Reply
  41. Jeanne says

    August 6, 2008 at 5:25 pm

    Tamarind is such an interestign flavour – my Mexican friend has these crazy salted tamarinf sweets that she’s addicted to 😉 I also love naking fish – it’s so easy and the end result is so flavoursome. Love the colours of your dish too!

    Reply
  42. CECIL says

    August 6, 2008 at 6:19 pm

    Hi! I am a new food blogger, but been lurking to your blog for a while. Love your photos!!! I wish mine can look like that. 🙂 So thrilled to see your fondness in Asian cuisine!

    Reply
  43. Mrs Ergül says

    August 7, 2008 at 1:11 pm

    Oh gosh! This is so nice yummy! I could smell it from here! I love fish being handled this way!

    Reply
  44. Helene says

    August 8, 2008 at 1:03 am

    This pictures looks like it was taken in a restaurant. The food looks so good on that plate.

    Reply
  45. Jaime says

    August 9, 2008 at 12:31 am

    wow, what a great use of the tamarind!

    Reply
  46. Coffee and Vanilla says

    August 9, 2008 at 5:19 pm

    Kevin,
    Fish and tamarind sounds very good to me… I missed so many of your recipes this week!! I’ve been very busy… I’m trying to set up my own online store and spent ours searching wholesalers. Anyway… I love the recipe, same cherry clafoutis sounds delicious… I made one before but with mixed berries.

    Have a wonderful weekend, Margot

    Reply
  47. Megan says

    August 10, 2008 at 7:26 pm

    Did you find this to be overly salty? Sometimes when I work with tamarind I can hardly swallow due to the saltiness, do you have any tricks?

    Reply
  48. kumichan83 says

    September 5, 2009 at 1:20 am

    holy crap, i absolutely cannot believe how many wonderful recipes you have here. i am going to try so many of them! this will keep me busy for years!!!

    Reply
  49. Nija Rene says

    October 27, 2012 at 8:13 pm

    Awesome looking Tilapia and sauce sounds wonderful!

    Reply

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