Sweet and Sour Fish

This sweet and sour fish is my favorite easy, make-at-home version of one of my favorite Chinese restaurant dishes. This version isn’t fried, pairs perfect with a bowl of rice, and can be made in under 30 minutes. That’s a win in my books!

I prefer to use salmon as my fish of choice, but you can use a white fish like pacific or black cod.

Good on grains dish # 4 is inspired by one of my favorite things to order at a Chinese restaurant. It’s a sweet and sour fish that’s slightly sweet, slightly tangy, has crisp edges, and goes SO well with rice.

My homemade version is pan seared, will still give you slightly crisp edges with a cornstarch coating, but won’t feel too heavy or leave you with a pot of hot oil to clean up.

We’re also packing in veggies like broccoli, red peppers, onions, and celery to make this a one pot balanced dish (as always! ;))

To make give this sweet and sour fish its characteristic sweet and tangy flavor, we’re using a couple tablespoons of ketchup, rice vinegar, and brown sugar. They are ingredients you likely already have in your fridge!

Chef Tips:

On Ingredients

• Feel free to substitute the salmon with cod, tilapia, or even rock cod.
• Any “hard” vegetable would work here – I prefer to use harder vegetables (zucchini, peppers, celery, broccoli, cabbage) here instead of leafy greens (spinach, chard, cucumbers), as they go well with the sauce consistency. Baby corn would also be lovely in this recipe!

For Prep

• Trim the broccoli and red pepper into 1″ pieces. I slice the celery into 1/2″ bias pieces so it will cook more evenly (celery has more water and requires a longer cooking time than broccoli or red peppers).
• Cut the fish into even sized pieces and thicknesses. I even slice the thick parts of my salmon in half so the pieces will cook evenly. Some parts of the salmon near the edges or belly are much thinner than the thick parts.
• Season the salmon on both sides with salt and pepper before coating it with cornstarch. This will help ensure the flavor penetrates throughout.

On cooking

• Lightly coat the fish in cornstarch to build a crispy edge. You can substitute the cornstarch for tapioca starch or arrowroot starch if you prefer.
• Remove the salmon after searing for 3-4 minutes to prevent it from overcooking. Then, gently fold the fish back into the stir fry after the veggies are cooked and the sauce is finished.

Ingredients for the Sweet and Sour Fish:

For the Salmon

• 1 lb salmon, cut into 1” pieces
• ¼ cup corn starch
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• black pepper

For the Stir-Fry

• 1 head broccoli
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1/2 bunch celery
• 1/2 red onion
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons ketchup
• 1 tablespoon of brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 cup broth
• ¼ cup water
• 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 1.5 tbsp corn starch

High Level Directions

Prep the vegetables.

Slice the salmon into 2” pieces and season on both sides with kosher salt and black pepper. 

Coat each piece of the salmon with cornstarch, then set aside. 

Cook the salmon for 2-3 minutes. Remove the salmon from the pan and set aside.

Add all the vegetables to the pan. Cook for 3-4 minutes.

Add the cornstarch slurry and give everything a toss. 

Then, add the ketchup, vinegar, soy sauce, and sugar to the vegetables, and give everything a stir. 

Add the seared salmon back in. Taste adjust seasoning as desired, and serve over rice.

Other easy weeknight dinner recipes:

• Tomato Ginger Salmon Curry
• Vietnamese Inspired Shaking Beef Bowl
• Bulgogi Beef Rice Bowl

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