Coconut Fried Fish with Lasos Zonyon
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My mum moved away from her home country of the Seychelles before I was born. Growing up, she taught me a lot about my culture through food, and the one dish she talked about the most was this one: Coconut fried fish.
Fried fish is a staple dish in so many households, but nowadays you’ll mostly find it fried in sunflower or vegetable oil. The coconut oil is what makes it so unique - it imparts a subtle flavour and sweetness that other oils don’t. To cut through the richness, she would eat it with lasos zonyon - you can find this sauce in many ways, but the best is made with thinly sliced, crisp shallots (for their mild sweetness) tossed in a fruity scotch bonnet dressing.
I ate it just like she would, with bouyon bred and rice.
Notes: I’d recommend getting the fish from a fishmongers and asking them to clean and butterfly the fish so that you get two glorious fillets still together (this is purely for aesthetics purposes, it doesn’t change the texture or flavour in any way).
Ingredients
100g Coconut Oil
1 Whole Butterflied Sea Bream or 2 fillets
For the salad:
3 Shallots, peeled and thinly slice or mandolined
1 Scotch Bonnet, thinly sliced
10g Parsley, leaves picked, stems discarded
3 Limes (one for garnish)
1 Lemon
Salt, Black Pepper, Olive Oil
Method
Season the flesh of the fish with plenty of salt and pepper. Set aside. Pat the fish dry before cooking.
Add the shallots into a bowl of ice water and let them sit in there for 5-10 minutes to mellow and crisp up.
Add the juice of 2 limes and the lemon into a bowl with the scotch bonnet. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle in a touch of olive oil.
Melt the coconut oil into a frying pan placed over medium heat. Once hot, gently lay the fish, skin side down, into the oil. Place a weight on top (this could be a plate, small pan… anything weighty and flat) - it’ll help the skin stay in contact with the pan and not curl up. After a couple of minutes, remove the weight and cook the fish entirely on the skin until it goes golden and crisp, 8-10 minutes. If the flesh hasn’t fully cooked, baste it with the hot oil.
Once the fish is cooked, remove from the pan and place, skin side up, onto a serving plate. Drain the shallots and toss through the scotch bonnet dressing with the parsley leaves. Top the fish with the salad and as much of the dressing as you’d like. Serve with any remaining lime wedges.
