Air Fryer Turmeric Garlic Batang Fish Fillet

In my memory, I have never try pan-frying fish fillet in my kitchen as I have no confidence in doing a nice job, and I hate to clean up the kitchen after cooking it 😓

However, after learning that air fryer can also cook fish, I decided to give this tough job a try last week. It was surprisingly simple and fast. And most important of all, the fish fillet was tender and moist 😋

Video of the end product 🐠

Ingredients

260g Batang fish fillet with skin on

Marinade 1 (Brining)

1/2 tsp salt, to rub the fish fillet 

1 small clove garlic, chopped

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground black peppercorn

1/2 tsp soy sauce concentrate, Japanese Tsuyu

1/2 tsp dark brown sugar 

50g low-fat milk
water to submerge the fish fillet 

Marinade 2

5g low-salt fish sauce
5g freshly grated garlic 
3g turmeric powder
1/4 tsp pepper powder 
2g coriander powder
1/4 tsp paprika powder 
3g corn flour/starch
4g dark brown sugar
5g grapeseed oil

Directions

1. Rinse the fish fillet.

Slice out the bone strip from the fillet but keeping the skin intact. This step is optional. It only helps to serve a boneless fillet later.

2. Rub about 1/2 tsp of salt, from Marinade 1, all over the fish fillet.

3.  Mix the remaining ingredients under Marinade 1 in a big mixing bowl big enough to hold the fish fillet.

4. Coat the fish fillet with the Marinade 1.

Add water to the marinade to submerge the fish fillet. Let the fish fillet marinate for about 30 minutes.

5. While the fish fillet is marinating, combine the ingredients under Marinade 2 into a smooth paste.

6. Drain away the marinade 1, and pat dry the fish fillet using paper kitchen towel.

6. Apply and smear Marinade B all over the fish fillet including the cleaves. Let the fish fillet marinate for about 30 minutes.

7. Line a small roasting pan with parchment paper, and spread about 1 tbsp of grapeseed oil over the parchment paper.

Start the "Fish" function of the air fryer, at 195℃. I let the air fryer preheat for about 2 minutes.

8. The entire cooking process will take about 10 minutes at 195℃.

First cook the fish fillet with the skin facing down for about 5 minutes.

Take out the fish fillet, and flip it using a broad spatula.

Let the fish skin face up,

return to the air fryer, and continue to cook for about 3 minutes.

Take out from the air fryer,

flip the fish fillet again, to let the skin face down. Do it slowly in order not to break the extremely tender and fragile fish fillet.

Return the fish fillet to the air fryer and continue to cook till the timer is up, about 2 minutes.

To test the doneness of the fish fillet, insert a thin cake tester to the thickest part of the fish fillet. If clear juice flows out after the cake tester was withdrawn, the fish fillet is cooked through.

Do not let the fish fillet sits in the air fryer after cooking to prevent over-cooking the meat.

9. Squeeze some green lime juice over the fish fillet before serving. Enjoy 😋