8 garlick cloves
5 fresh yellow chillies
1 kg/2¼lb of whole perch or sea bass - cleaned and gutted
approx. 675 ml/24 fl oz of peanut or corn oil - for frying
½ teaspoon each of salt & ground white pepper
plain flour - for dusting
100 ml/4 fl oz of chicken stock
2 fresh red chillies - quartered lengthwise
1 tablespoon of tamarind juice or vinegar
2 teaspoons of sugar
1 teaspoon of fish sauce
15 g/½ oz of sweet basil leaves - fried in oil for 1 minute until crisp

METHOD

Pound the garlic and chilli together lightly with a mortar and pestle or in a blender. Score the fish on both sides 5-6 times, sprinkle on the salt and pepper and dust with flour (The scoring makes small trenches in the flesh for the sauce, which is not intended to surround the fish, but to be poured on top at the last minute). Heat the oil to 350ºF/180º in a pan or wok and fry the fish well, until crisp but tender inside, about 7-10 minutes. Remove and drain the fish and put in a serving dish. Take out all except approx. 50ml/2 fl oz of the oil. Cook the garlic and chilli mixture, add the rest of the ingredients (except for the basil) and boil lightly for about 5 minutes until slightly thick. Pour on top of the fish and sprinkle over the fried basil to garnish. Serve accompanied by rice.

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