- 450g/1lb boneless, firm white fish fillets, such as cod, sea bass or halibut,
- skinned and divided into 4 equal pieces
- salt
- freshly ground pepper
- plain flour, for dusting
- 450g/1lb tinned whole tomatoes
- 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 tbsp coarsely chopped garlic
- 2 tbsp finely chopped shallots
- 1 tbsp Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp chilli bean sauce
- 2 tsp sugar
- handful fresh basil leaves for garnish
- Pat the fish dry with kitchen paper. Sprinkle evenly with the salt and pepper and dust with flour, shaking off any excess.
- Drain the tomatoes, reserving the juice, and chop the flesh into small chunks. Measure the amount of juice, keep half and set aside. Discard the rest.
- Heat a wok over high heat until it is hot. Add the olive oil, and when it is moderately hot, add the fish fillets and pan-fry them for 3-5 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fillets. Then turn them over and brown the other side (this will also take about 3-5 minutes). When cooked, remove and drain on kitchen paper. Turn onto a warm platter.
- Pour off all but one tablespoon of oil from the wok, add the garlic and shallots, and stir-fry for one minute.
- Add the tomatoes, the reserved tomato juice, rice wine or sherry, soy sauce, chilli bean sauce and sugar, and simmer for five minutes.
- Pour the sauce over the fish, garnish with the basil and serve at once.