Oven Baked Tamarind Fish (Caribbean Style)

Oven Baked Tamarind Fish (Caribbean Style)

Learn how to make some oven baked tamarind fish with a Caribbean twist. Whole snapper, seasoned to perfection and served with a tangy creamy coconut tamarind sauce. This fish has layers of flavour and is deeply satisfying.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Caribbean

Prep Time 50

Cook Time 30

Total Time 1 20

Servings people

Calories 732kcal

Author Charla

Ingredients

2 fresh whole fish

Homemade seasoning

2 tablespoon thyme
2 teaspoon pink salt
2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon onion granules
1 teaspoon garlic granules
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground ginger
2 teaspoon paprika

To sweeten the tamarind paste

3 tablespoon tamarind paste
2 tablespoon raw cane sugar

To stew the fish

2 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium red onion sliced
2 scallion sliced
4 garlic cloves minced
2 teaspoon ginger minced
½ red pepper sliced
½ green pepper sliced
¼ cup canned tomatoes
2 tablespoon soya sauce
1 tablespoon chadon beni
6 sprigs of thyme
½ teaspoon turmeric
1 scotch bonnet
2 teaspoon homemade seasoning (see above)
1 cup coconut milk
black pepper and pink salt to taste

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 180C/356F.
Place the ingredients for the homemade seasoning in a spice or coffee grinder.
Mill into a fine consistency and set aside.
Prepare the tamarind paste by placing it in a small bowl and adding and stiring in the raw cane sugar and then set aside.
Place the snapper on a chopping board.
Use a chefs knife to score each side of the fish diagonally with a 3-4cm gap being careful not to score too deep into the fish cavity.
Repeat the above steps with the other fish.
Generously season both the cavity and outside of the fish with the homemade seasoning and make sure to reserve 2 teaspoons to make the sauce.
Place the fish on parchment paper and tightly wrap it with aluminium foil.
Bake the fish in the oven for 25-30 minutes when done remove from the oven and set aside.
While the fish is being baked, prepare the sauce by heating olive oil on a large frying pan or skillet on medium heat.
Sauce the onion, garlic and ginger until soft and translucent.
Add the bell peppers and continue to cook for a few minutes.
Add the canned tomatoes, soya sauce, tamarind paste, chadon beni, thyme, turmeric, scotch bonnet and reserved seasoning.
Pour in the coconut milk, stir and bring the pan to a rolling boil.
Reduce the heat to medium-low and leave to simmer for 15-20 minutes during the given time the sauce will thicken and colour deepen, keep a watchful eye on the sauce, stirring often and adding a splash of water, if needed.
Do a test taste and add additional black pepper and pink salt, if required.
Once the sauce is ready, use a egg spatula to carefully lower the fish into the pan with the sauce.
Baste the fish with the sauce and simmer for a further 5 minutes.

Notes

In you true Caribbean style the fish is always washed and clean ahead of time. Check if this link out if you want to know how to clean meat or seafood.
Most fishmongers scale and gut the fish for you so it's a lot more convenient if you have them do this for you.
Feel free to use any other type of whole fish - butta fish, doctor, parrot, sea bream, sea bass, mackerel just to name a few.
As always, make sure to do a taste test of the sauce prior to serving.
To determine if the fish is cooked, the flesh should be opaque/white and flake with ease using a fork and the internal cooking temperature with a thermometer is 63C (145F).
To save on some time, you can cook the sauce ahead of time (the day before) if you wish to do so. Simply re-heat the sauce and add the baked fish when you are ready to serve.
Use tamarind paste for this recipe, it should be pure with no additional ingredients.
It is best to serve this recipe immediately, I don't recommend freezing it.

Nutrition