Chinese Fish Fillets with Homemade Sweet Chilli Sauce

Crispy deep-fried garfish fillets coated in Szechuan-five-spice + cornflour, served with homemade sweet chilli sauce that beats anything in a bottle. The Chinese restaurant favourite, made fresh from your own catch (or any small white-fish fillet). The homemade sweet chilli is the standout — fresh chilli + coriander + lime + fish sauce = bright, complex, perfectly balanced. Make a batch + use on everything for a week. Recipe Card Serves 4 Prep 15 min Cook 30 min Method Camp oven Difficulty Easy Best for Camp + home Photo by Chris wu on Unsplash Chinese Fish Fillets with Homemade Sweet Chilli Sauce Serves: 4 · Prep: 15 minutes · Cook: 15 minutes (incl. 5 min sauce + 2 min per fish batch) · Equipment: deep-fry pan or wok, mixing bowl, small saucepan, slotted spoon Photo: Zayed Ahmed Zadu / Unsplash Ingredients Fish coating: 1kg garfish fillets, all bones removed, skin on 3 tbsp cornflour ½ tsp ground Szechuan pepper (substitute black pepper if unavailable) ½ tsp Chinese Five Spice powder 1 tsp salt Vegetable oil for deep frying (peanut oil ideal) Sweet chilli sauce: 3 large red chillies, deseeded + finely chopped 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped 3 tbsp fresh coriander leaves, chopped 4 coriander roots, finely chopped (the secret weapon — major flavour) 250g caster sugar 130ml Thai coconut vinegar (or rice wine vinegar) 30ml Thai fish sauce 130ml water To serve: mixed green salad, jasmine rice, lime wedges. Substitute fish: garfish is the original (small + delicate). Other small white-flesh options: whiting, leatherjacket, flathead fillets, small bream fillets, mahi-mahi. Method Make the sweet chilli sauce FIRST (better with cooling time): 1. Prep: deseed + finely chop chillies. Chop coriander roots + garlic. Chop coriander leaves separately. 2. Make the syrup base. In a small saucepan, combine sugar, vinegar + water. Bring to a vigorous boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. 3. Take off heat + immediately add chopped chilli, coriander root, coriander leaves, garlic + fish sauce. Stir to combine. 4. Cover + cool. Allows flavours to meld. Sauce will thicken slightly as it cools. (Lasts a week in the fridge.) Then cook the fish: 5. Mix the dry coating in a wide bowl: Szechuan pepper, cornflour, five-spice + salt. 6. Pat fish fillets dry with paper towel. Lightly coat each fillet in the dry mixture, pressing the coating on. Shake off excess. 7. Heat oil for deep frying to 180°C in a wok or deep pan. Test with a wooden spoon — if bubbles immediately form around the wood, oil is ready. 8. Deep fry fish in batches — single layer, don't crowd. About 2 minutes per batch — until golden + cooked through. Remove with a slotted spoon to a paper towel-lined plate. 9. Serve immediately on a warm plate with the sweet chilli sauce in a small dipping bowl on the side. Mixed green salad alongside, lime wedge for squeezing. Tips and variations The coriander ROOTS are the secret. Most recipes ignore them — they're where the deep flavour lives. Use them; ask the greengrocer for coriander with roots intact Szechuan pepper creates a slight tongue tingle (málà sensation). Substitute with black pepper if unavailable but the dish loses some character Chinese Five Spice = star anise + cloves + cinnamon + Sichuan pepper + fennel. McCormick / Masterfoods sell ready-made Oil temperature matters. Too cold = greasy + soggy fish; too hot = burnt outside, raw inside. 180°C is the sweet spot. A thermometer takes the guesswork out Don't over-coat — light dusting only. Heavy coating becomes gummy Chilli levels: 3 large red chillies = medium heat. Halve for mild; double for hot Sauce keeps — make a double batch + use on chicken, prawns, spring rolls, even drizzled over scrambled eggs Cooking method alternatives: shallow pan-fry for less oil (still works); air-fry for ultra-light coating; oven-baked for healthy version (20 min at 200°C) Fish swaps: any small fillet works — whiting, leatherjacket, flathead are excellent Camp version: works fine on a butane stove with a wok. Make sauce ahead at home in a jar Wine pairing: off-dry Riesling or unoaked chardonnay handle the chilli + fish Our take One of those recipes that makes you wonder why you ever bought sweet chilli sauce in a bottle. The homemade version is brighter, fresher, more complex — and once you taste it, the bottled stuff seems lifeless. The fish itself is just the vehicle. Make the sauce on day 1 of a fishing trip + use it for the whole week — on fresh fish, on chicken skewers, on tofu, on noodles. Versatile + completely transformative. Shop Fishing Gear

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Chinese Fish Fillets with Homemade Sweet Chilli Sauce

Posted on April 26, 2026