Sweet and Sour Grouper Fish

This is good with fish chucks, fish fillets or whole grouper fish.

Ingredients

1. 600-800gms Fish
2. ½ teaspoon Salt
3. ½ teaspoon white ground pepper
4. cooking oil for deep frying
5. Corn flour enough to coat the surface of the fish.

Sauce (reduce by proportion if fish is small)

1. 6 table spoon of tomato ketchup (option: replace 2 table spoon of ketchup with plum sauce)
2. 2 table spoon of sugar
3. 2 table spoon of soya sauce
4. 1/4 teaspoon of salt
5. 1 teaspoon corn flour
6. 1/3 cup water
7. 1 teapspoon of minced garlic
8. 2 tablespoon cooking oil
9. 1 teaspoon of chilli paste, or 2 table spoon of chilli sauce (optional for making it spicy). 

Method

1. If processing whole fish, de-scale the fish, and remove the gut and gills.  Lightly brush the gut wall with a brush to remove the blood clots.  If processing fillet or chucks, just rinse with water.  Drain dry. For fillet with skin attached, using a very sharp knife, cut shallowly the flesh at 45 deg at about 2cm interval without cutting the skin, both directions to give diamond shape cubes, of 2×2 cm.  Do not cut too deep so that the skin is still holding on the flesh cubes (it will looks nice after frying).    
2. Rub some salt and pepper on the fish surface, (and the gut wall if whole fish is used).  Coat the fish with corn flour sufficiently and shake off excess flour.
3. Deep fry the fish till golden brown, put on serving plate.

For the sauce

1. Mix the sugar, ketchup, plum sauce, chilli sauce, salt, soya sauce, water and 1 teaspoon corn flour in a bowl and set aside.
2. Heat up wok or pan, add cooking oil and garlic, and fry till fragrance. Pour in the mixed sauces, and allow it to boil till required consistency.
3. Off flame and pour over fish.
4. Serve hot.

As option, you may also add into the sauce (while cooking) any of the following

1. Handful canned pineapple cubes. 
2. ¼ cup pre-boiled carrot cubes and peas ( buy frozen ones in supermarkets)
3. ½ teaspoon finely chopped green lime skin, or lemon or lime leaves or curry leaves. (give it a little Thai style)