Mackerel with sizzled garlic, ginger & tomatoes

This fish, served whole and baked with Chinese flavours, makes a stylish meal for two. Grill it or pop it on the BBQ

  • Prep:10 mins
    Cook:10 mins
  • Serves 2
  • Easy

Nutrition per serving

  • kcal 586
  • fat 44g
  • saturates 8g
  • carbs 7g
  • sugars 6g
  • fibre 2g
  • protein 40g
  • salt 1.78g

Ingredients

  • 2 whole mackerel, gutted and cleaned (ask the fishmonger to do this for you)
  • 2 tbsp sunflower or groundnut oil
  • thumb-sized piece ginger, finely shredded
  • 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
  • 2 fat red chillies, deseeded if you like, shredded
  • bunch spring onions, finely shredded
  • 250g pack cherry tomatoes, quartered
  • 1 tsp Chinese rice vinegar
  • 1 tbsp light soy sauce, plus more to serve if you like

Tip

Tip
You’ll know that your whole fish is thoroughly cooked when the dorsal fin (the one on the back) pulls away easily.

Method

  1. Heat the grill to High, or fire up the barbecue. Slash the fish a few times on each side, then season with black pepper. Grill or barbecue the fish for 3-5 mins on each side, until charred and cooked through (see Tip).

  2. Heat the oil in a frying pan (you can put the pan on the barbecue rack), then fry the ginger, garlic and chillies for about 2 mins until the garlic is lightly golden. Take off the heat and toss in the spring onions and cherry tomatoes. Lift the fish onto a plate, splash with the vinegar, then spoon over the contents of the pan and splash with soy sauce.

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