Sweet and Sour Pompano Recipe – A Quick One Pan Dish

One of the easiest and best Sweet and Sour Pompano Recipe you can find on the internet. This dish just needs one pan and 10 minutes to make. A Deliciously savory, sweet, and tangy dish that offers crisp pompano fish with a tender interior, doused in a tasty beautifully colored red sauce made of canned pineapple, vinegar, ketchup, sugar, water, ginger, garlic, carrot, onion, bell peppers, and a slurry to help thicken it up. A perfect dish for those looking for a quick healthy alternative for their weeknights.

Sweet and Sour Pompano Recipe :

Ingredients :

For the Fish

• 2 medium Pompano
• Salt for seasoning
• Cornstarch ( enough to cover the fishes )

For the Sauce

• 1 small can pineapple tidbits
• ¼ cup vinegar
• ⅓ cup ketchup
• ¼ cup sugar
• ½ cup water
• 1 thumb ginger ( minced )
• 3 cloves garlic ( minced )
• 1 small carrot ( julienned )
• 1 large onion ( sliced )
• 1 medium bell pepper (sliced )
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Slurry ( 1 tablespoon cornstarch & ¼ cup water )
• Oil for frying
• Green onions for garnish ( optional )

Steps :

1. Prepare the pompano fishes by seasoning these with salt on both sides. Dredge in cornstarch and set aside.

2. In a bowl, strain the pineapple juice and mix this with vinegar, ketchup, sugar, and water. Mix well. Set aside.

3. In a pan, heat some oil. Fry the dish until crispy and golden brown. Flip if needed. Repeat for the other fish. Set aside.

4. In the same pan, saute ginger, garlic, and carrot for a minute. Add onions and bell peppers and saute for a bit. Before pouring in the sauce.

5. Simmer for 5 minutes. Add pineapple bits and simmer for another 2 minutes. Give it a taste before adding salt and pepper if needed. Mix in slurry to help thicken the sauce.

6. Once slightly thick, turn off the heat and add the fish. Coat these in the sauce. Garnish with green onions. Serve hot.

Why use Pompano fish ?

In this Sweet and Sour Fish recipe, we’ll be using the “Pompano Fish”. This silver-colored deliciously aromatic fish is favored by many chefs and home cooks alike due to its mildly flavored flesh that’s firm enough to be used for baking, frying, and even grilling. It doesn’t need to be descaled, has a natural buttery taste and when cooked, feels tender, flaky, and delicate. Like all Fishes these are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin D and B12, minerals, and protein making them very beneficial for the heart. When choosing for the freshest fish; make sure to choose clear colored eyes not cloudy looking ones. The flesh should also feel firm to touch and have no blemishes. You can easily find these in the wet market or grocery stores sold as a whole fish or fillet.

Read more about this delicately fragrant and popular fish here : “What is Pompano “

How to Cook this dish ?

To make this Sweet and Sour Sauce Recipe with Pineapple Juice all you need to do is prepare the fishes by patting them dry with a kitchen towel before rubbing both sides with some rock salt. Coat these in cornstarch. These will help really crisp up the fish. Fry these in a shallow pan with a bit of oil. Do these in batches, flipping once one side turns golden. Then take these out and place over a strainer or kitchen towel to help remove any excess oil.

For the sauce; strain and separate the pineapple juice from the tidbits. The tidbits will be added later. Mix the juice with vinegar and ketchup to add that extra tang and acidity, sugar to balance the taste, and water to help simmer everything together later on. Set this aside while you saute the aromatics in the same pan, where you’ve fried the fish. Saute ginger, garlic, and carrots for a few minutes just to soften the carrots a bit. Add the onions and bell peppers, mixing it well before pouring in the delectably sweet and sour sauce. Bring to a boil and let this simmer together with the aromatics to help meld all the flavors together. Place in the pineapple tidbits and give it a little taste before adding more salt and pepper if needed. Simmer once again now with the slurry added. Mix until it thickens slightly. Once thick, place back the fishes, tossing them or covering these with the sauce. Top with some green onions to add a playful touch.

Questions

• How to turn this into a Chinese sweet and sour pompano recipe ?

Simply add a teaspoon more or so of 5 spice wonder in the cornstarch mix. When making the sauce, use brown sugar instead of white sugar, add a 1 – 2 tablespoons soy sauce, and to make it even more vibrant, a few drops of red food coloring.

• How to make Baked Sweet and Sour Pompano Recipe?
  • Place the fishes covered in cornstarch in a pan lined with parchment. Spray or drizzle with oil. 
  • Bake in a 200°C or 400°F preheated oven for 20 – 30 minutes , flipping midway or until both sides have turned golden.
  • Cover the fishes with the sauce ( cooked in the pan ).

• How to Store
  • Once cooled to room temperature, place in an airtight container / tub.
  • This lasts in the fridge for 3 – 5 days and in the freezer for a month or more.
  • To reheat; thaw for at least 30 minutes and place in the microwave for 1 – 2 minutes or until hot enough. You can also place this in a pan with ⅓ cup or more of water to help simmer the fish without burning the bottom of the pan.

Try our other Yummy Sweet and Sour Recipes :

• Tangy Homemade Sweet and Sour Meatballs
• Sweet and Sour Maya-maya
• Sweet and Sour Canned Tuna
• Sweet and Sour Tofu
• Sweet and Sour Chicken

Sweet and Sour Pompano Resipi ( Tagalog ) :

Mga Sangkap :

Para sa Isda

• 2 medium Pompano
• Asin panlasa
• Cornstarch ( para matakpan ang mga isda )

Para sa Sarsa

• 1 maliit na lata ng pineapple tidbits
• ¼ tasa ng suka
• ⅓ tasa ng ketchup
• ¼ tasa ng asukal
• ½ tasa ng tubig
• 1 daliri ng luya ( tinadtad )
• 3 butil ng bawang ( tinadtad )
• 1 karot ( hiniwa ng maninipis )
• 1 sibuyas ( hiniwa )
• 1 kampanilyang paminta ( hiniwa )
• Asin at paminta panlasa
• Slurry ( 1 kutsarang cornstarch at ¼ tasa ng tubig )
• Mantika pang prito
• Dahon ng Sibuyas ( optional )

Paano Lutuin :

1. Ihanda ang mga pompano. Iseason ang mga ito ng asin. I-dredge ng cornstarch at itabi,
2. Sa mangkok, salain ang pineapple juice at haluan into ng suka, ketchup, asukal, at tubig. Itabi,
3. Sa kawali, uminit ng mantika. Iprito ang mga isda hanggang mag-golden. Pag baliktaran kung kinakailangan. Ulitin sa pangalawang isda. Itabi.
4. Sa parehong kawali, lutuin ang luya, bawang, at karot ng 1 minuto. Haluan ng sibuyas at kampanilyang paminta. Bago buhusan ng sarsa.
5. Pakuluin ng 5 minuto. Haluan ng pineapple bits at pakuluan ng 2 minuto. Tikman at dagdagan ng asin at paminta kung kinakailangan. Haluan ng slurry para kumapal ang sarsa.
6. Pag makapal na sarsa, tanggalin sa init at ilagay ang mga isda dito. Takpan ng sarsa at dekorasyonan ng dahon ng sibuyas. Ihanda habang mainit pa.

#SweetAndSourPompano #SeafoodRecipe #PompanoFish #FlavorfulDishes #FishRecipes #SweetAndSour #SeafoodLovers #HealthyEating #EasyRecipes #TastyMeals