Fish Tempura (Spanish Mackerel Tempura)

Fish Tempura, specifically in this case Mackerel Tempura is not exactly a traditional Filipino dish, but have you ever tried a dish that left such a lasting impression on you that you couldn't stop thinking about it for days, or even weeks? That's exactly how I felt after trying the Mackerel tempura at a restaurant in Brooklyn with a group of friends. The delicate, crispy batter that enveloped the tender and succulent fish was a game-changer for me and I knew I had to try recreating it at home. After a bit of experimentation, I finally came up with a recipe that comes pretty close to the restaurant version, and I'm excited to share it with you today. Whether you're a fan of seafood or simply love the taste and texture of tempura, this recipe is sure to be a hit.

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So grab your apron, heat up some oil, and let's get started on this mouth-watering journey together.

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Serves: 4 Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

4 Spanish Mackerel fillets, deboned and cut into finger food pieces

1 tsp salt

4 cloves garlic (optional but highly recommended), grated

pepper

Avocado Oil

Batter:

1 cup flour, sifted

1 egg

1 cup water

4 Ice cubes

Dipping Sauce

Sweet Chili Sauce

and/or

Garlic Aioli

2T Kewpie mayonnaise

1 clove garlic, grated

Instructions:

1. Heat the oil in a sauce pot or cast iron dutch oven.

2. Mix 1 tsp salt and grated garlic until pasty and slather on mackerel fillets. Season them with pepper. Cut up the fillets into finger food pieces (I like to divide each fillet into 4)

3. When the oil is almost ready for frying, mix the batter: in a bowl, beat eggs gently until almost incorporated, add in 1 cup water and ice cubes, add in sifted flour and mix gently together until batter is just combined. It's okay for it to be lumpy. Do not overmix as it will result in dense and heavy coating.

4. When the oil is ready, dip the fish into the batter, and gently lower them into the oil, cooking until brown and crispy. Do not over crowd the pan when deep frying as the fish will stick together.

5. Remove from the oil with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel-lined plate.

6. Serve with Sweet Chili Sauce and enjoy while hot and crispy.

Bonus Tip:

1. When you let the garlic sit for 10 minutes after grating and before cooking, you activate and keep the compound allicin which is antibacterial, antifungal antiviral and heart healthy.

2. If you're in the mood for a more garlicky flavor than sweet chili for dipping sauce, you can make a garlic aioli with mayonnaise and grated garlic. Honestly, I like to mix both.

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Nutritional Information per serving size: 1 fillet with batter: Calories: 264, Total Fat: 7.4g, Saturated Fat: 1.4g, Trans Fat: 0g, Cholesterol: 96mg, Sodium: 528mg, Total Carbohydrates: 24.6g, Dietary Fiber: 0.8g Sugars: 5.7g, Protein: 23.3g

**Note that these values are estimates and may vary depending on the exact ingredients and brands you use and amount of oil absorbed during frying. The dipping sauce is not included in this nutritional information.

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I'd love to hear how this recipe went for you and what dipping sauce you went with!