Lao Gan Ma Grouper Fillets

This simple recipe uses a special technique where only one side of the fish gets breaded, then fried in a small amount of oil until very crispy. The fish then gets flipped for a very short time to complete cooking. This makes for juicier fish that doesn’t get overcooked.

Lao Gan Ma is my favourite brand of chili crisp (a type of flavourful chili oil with lots of crispy chili and soy bean bits), but you could use any brand of chili crisp (or your own homemade stuff!) for this recipe.

Same goes with the fish, I used grouper fillets since they were available at the time, but you could use pretty much any fish for this preparation. You just want the fillet to be nice and thick,

Prep Time12 min
Cook Time18 min
Total Time30 min
Yield4 servings

Cuisine
- American
- Chinese
Course
- Main Course
Cooking Method
- Shallow fry
- stir fry

Ingredients

For the Fish

4 grouper (or other thick fish) fillets, at least 2″ (4.5cm) thick
3 tablespoons (45ml) vegetable oil
1/2 cup (60g) panko breadcrumbs
Kosher salt
Black pepper
Lao Gan Ma chili crisp
Cilantro to garnish

For the Beans

1lb (454g) beans (green and/or yellow), trimmed
1 tablespoon (15ml) oil
1 tablespoon (8g) minced garlic
1 tablespoon (8g) minced ginger
1/2 teaspoon (1g) ground Sichuan peppercorn (optional)
Kosher salt

Preparation

Put the oil in a cold skillet or pan.

Pour the breadcrumbs onto a plate.

Dip one side of the fish fillets into the oil, just to oil the surface of the fish.

Season the fish on both sides with salt and pepper, then dip the oiled side into the breadcrumbs.

Bring the pan up to medium heat and add the fish, breaded side down.

Cook the fish for 8 minutes (less for thinner fillets), making sure to moderate the heat so the crumbs don’t burn. Flip the fillets and finish cooking until they’re JUST cooked through, about a minute.

Set aside to rest for a couple of minutes.

Meanwhile, in a separate pan, add the oil over medium high heat, then add in the beans.

Stir fry for 5 minutes.

Add the garlic, ginger, Sichuan peppercorn, and a pinch of salt and stir fry for 1 more minute.

To serve, perch a fish fillet (breaded side up) on top of 1/4 of the beans.

Spoon on a generous amount of chili crisp, drizzling some over the beans as well.

Garnish with fresh cilantro leaves. Enjoy!