Baked Tamarind Fish 

By Zainab Shah

Updated Oct. 15, 2024

Baked Tamarind Fish 
Armando Rafael for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
Total Time
25 minutes
Prep Time
5 minutes
Cook Time
20 minutes
Rating
4(140)
Comments
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This 25-minute recipe for spicy, tangy, flaky fish relies on a bed of aromatic ingredients — ginger, garlic, onion, sesame oil — and a saucy blanket of tamarind. The easy sauce comes together quickly because the key ingredient, common in South Asian, Southeast Asian and Mexican cooking, is zingy tamarind concentrate. In addition, sweetness from sugar adds balance while chile powder and Thai green chiles bring the heat. It’s a lively, complex dish with a satisfyingly simple preparation that’s out of the oven and on your weeknight table in no time. Serve with white rice.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings
  • 1(3-inch) piece ginger, peeled
  • 6scallions, trimmed
  • 4garlic cloves
  • 2tablespoons sesame oil
  • ½cup tamarind concentrate (about 5½ ounces by weight)
  • 2tablespoons light soy sauce
  • 2tablespoons rice vinegar
  • 1teaspoon Kashmiri red chile powder
  • 1teaspoon date, palm or brown sugar
  • ¾teaspoon salt
  • 4(6- to 8-ounce) cod, halibut or other flaky white fish fillets (about ½ to ¾ inches thick)
  • 3Thai green chiles, seeded or unseeded, chopped
  • Cooked white rice, for serving
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

382 calories; 11 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 4 grams monounsaturated fat; 4 grams polyunsaturated fat; 30 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 9 grams sugars; 43 grams protein; 805 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat oven to 400 degrees. Roughly chop 2 inches of the ginger, and slice the remaining 1 inch piece into matchsticks. Roughly chop 4 scallions, and thinly slice the remaining 2 scallions. Smash and peel the garlic, and finely chop 1 of the cloves.

  2. Step 2

    Toss together the roughly chopped ginger, the roughly chopped scallions, the 3 smashed garlic cloves and 1 tablespoon sesame oil in a 9 by 13-inch baking pan. Arrange these ingredients so they make a bed for the fish to lay on.

  3. Step 3

    Make the tamarind sauce: In a bowl, whisk together the finely chopped garlic, the remaining 1 tablespoon sesame oil, the tamarind concentrate, soy sauce, vinegar, chile powder, sugar and salt until the mixture thickens slightly, 2 to 3 minutes.

  4. Step 4

    Place the fish fillets on the bed of ginger, scallions and garlic. Top each fillet with the tamarind sauce until the fish is covered in sauce (about 2 tablespoons per fillet). Cover with foil and bake until the fish flakes when poked with a fork, 12 to 15 minutes.

  5. Step 5

    Use a spatula to scoop up the bed of aromatics along with each fillet and transfer to plates or a platter. Top the fish with more sauce as desired, and garnish with the matchstick ginger, sliced scallions and chopped green chiles. Serve with white rice.

Ratings

4 out of 5
140 user ratings
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Comments

maria

I won’t make again, but if I had a Time Machine I would use half the tamarind concentrate. The rest of the dish works as is. Not bad I guess but way too much tamarind.

dina

google tamarind concentrate vs paste and you will have your answer

Rahul

Surprisingly - kind of bland? The sauce is very tasty but it doesn’t really add up to much. Would’ve been better either saucier or as more of a glaze. I ended up broiling the fish for a bit to add some char/flavor.

Johnny

I’ve wanted to make this one for quite some time. After going over most of all of these comments here from my fellow times cooks I did a few things that I think may help others. I brushed a little oil on the fish and lightly seasoned with salt and white pepper. When making the sauce I adjusted the ingredients so it was balanced and super tasty. I used tamarind paste from Thailand that I had to soak in boiling water for 20 minutes and then worked and strained it for a smooth concentrated paste. I coated the fish and placed it on top of all the aromatics and put the rest of the sauce on top. Placed tinfoil on top and roasted as per the instructions. Pulled the foil off and broiled to concentrate and caramalized a bit. When the fish was firmed up I inserted a metal skewer in the thickest part of the fish for 5 seconds felt warm when touched to my wrist. Basted the fish a bit with the sauce and served over udon noodles with lots of the ginger, scallions, and Thai peppers! Really good!

Beth it was okay

I followed the advice about cutting the amount of tamarind down by half and I baked it uncovered. It was okay. I don’t think I will make it again. I did make some coconut rice to go with it and that definitely helped.

Barbie

It’s certainly simple to make. Seems wasteful to use five ounces of tamarind concentrate. I keep it in the house for maafe, which uses about a tablespoon.

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