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
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
- 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.
- Taste test the sauce to ensure that the sweet, sour, salty and spicy aspects are balanced.
- Pour 1/2 of the sauce over the tilapia in a baking dish and make sure that the tilapia is fully coated in it.
- Cover with aluminum foil.
- Bake in a preheated 350F/180C oven until cooked, about 10-12 minutes.
- Serve with the remaining tamarind sauce, sliced green onions and red chillies.
Manggy says
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 🙂
Beachlover says
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:)
Anonymous says
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!
Elra says
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.
Esi says
I love Tilapia! This looks amazing.
Shreya says
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…
[eatingclub] vancouver || js says
Great-looking tilapia! Sure looks delicious.
noble pig says
What a beautiful dish! Love thr sound of that sauce.
Peabody says
Looks fantastic. Tamarind is highly underrated. It’s great.
Mochachocolata Rita says
well done, and this is my version of tamarind grilled fish 🙂
http://mochachocolatarita.blogspot.com/2008/07/tamarind-grilled-snapper-with-noodles.html
Gigi says
I have had tamarind many many times but never savory. This looks really good and interesting!
Anonymous says
Wow….this looks so good! I am sure the tamarind sauce tasted yummy!
HoneyB says
looks and sounds delicious!
daphne says
Ahh. tamarind! That looks sour n spicy. Wonderful!
Dee says
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…
Jeena says
Tamarind and fish are so delicious together, I love the presentation. 🙂
Carmen says
Lovely! I have plenty of tamarind to use up as well, so I’ll try this. 🙂
Ben says
Oh tamarind! I am addicted to the stuff. Especially raw out of the pod. On my goodness.
noobcook says
now you are cooking thai! *applause* This looks so good and flavourful 🙂
Cynthia says
I just barely got through the black berry post and now you’ve zapped me with the talapia and tamarind. Have mercy on me! 😀
Cheryl says
I hate fish but I would snarf that up in a minute! Excellent!
tigerfish says
Sounds like something really easy!
Claud says
Hi! I really like your blog… you seem to have great ability in cooking!
Pam says
This looks really delicious Kevin. Another great recipe to try.
cakewardrobe says
Looks awesome! I love thai food!
Deborah says
That is a gorgeous plate of food!
Anonymous says
Beautiful Presentation!
Jenny says
What a gorgeous recipe Kevin! It looks so delicious!
Anonymous says
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.
Anonymous says
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 🙂
Zita says
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.
Nate-n-Annie says
Very nicely presented.
Do you have any more leftover tamarind?
Dragon says
I bet it tasted wonderful with the coconut rice. Looks amazing.
Corinne says
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 🙂
Lida says
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?
una donna dolce says
Yum… this looks great Kevin!
oggi says
I love this dish, looks really delicious!
amandalouden says
Where did you find the Tamarind paste?
Rosa's Yummy Yums says
That dish looks terribly good! Wonderful! I love the flavor of tamarind…
Cheers,
Rosa
Kevin says
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.
Jeanne says
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!
CECIL says
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!
Mrs Ergül says
Oh gosh! This is so nice yummy! I could smell it from here! I love fish being handled this way!
Helene says
This pictures looks like it was taken in a restaurant. The food looks so good on that plate.
Jaime says
wow, what a great use of the tamarind!
Coffee and Vanilla says
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
Megan says
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?
kumichan83 says
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!!!
Nija Rene says
Awesome looking Tilapia and sauce sounds wonderful!