I like baking fish in foil parcels because it keeps a lot of the moisture inside while also making it easier to clean up afterwards. The flavours are South East Asian and are similar to my red curry fish parcel recipe. I have used a whole Red Snapper here but you can use any whole fish of your choice.
Serves 4
Prep time 15 mins
Cook time 40-45 mins
Ingredients
1 large Red Snapper, cleaned and gutted by your fishmonger
1 lemongrass stalk, finely sliced into rings
50g ginger, finely chopped
1 big red chilli (or 2-3 small chillies), finely chopped
1 lime, zest and juice
3 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tbsp of fish sauce
a few sprigs of coriander, to garnish
Preheat oven to 180C.
Prepare the stuffing mixture by mixing the lemongrass, ginger, chilli, lime, garlic, and fish sauce together.
Cut slits into the side of the fish and stuff half of the mixture into the cavity of the fish. Spread the remaining stuffing mixture over the body of the fish.
Wrap the fish with aluminium foil, creating a parcel. Leave an opening at the top to let the steam out and allow the heat to circulate better. If you wrap the parcel fully, it takes forever to cook, especially if the fish is quite big.
Place the fish parcel on a baking tray and place into the oven. Let it cook for about 40-45 minutes, depending on the size of your fish. The meat should be white and tender, falling off the bone.
Garnish with the coriander and serve with rice (not included in calorie count). I ended up wrapping the fish in lettuce leaves as a light, low-calorie lunch.