Firire (Fried Fish) is a traditional Senegalese recipe for a classic dish of fish rubbed with vinegar, salt, black pepper and chilli powder that's served with a simple salad and fried plantains. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Senegalese version of: Fried Fish (Firire).
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Also spelled firiire, this is the classic Senegalese method of preparing fried fish, one of the country's staples.
Ingredients:
1 sea bass (or sea bream) of medium size, cleaned, scaled and with about 6 deep slashes cut in each side
250g onions, chopped
100ml of oil
Vinegar
Dijon mustard
Salt
1 fish stock cube
Pepper
Chilli powder
3 cloves garlic
1/2 green bell pepper, sliced into strips
For the salad:
cherry tomatoes
1 cucumber
3 plantains, peeled and sliced
Method:
Crush 2 garlic then mix to a paste with 1 tbsp Dijon mustard, 1 tbsp vinegar, a generous pinch of salt, 1/4 tsp black pepper, 1/4 tsp chilli powder. Mix well the rub the mixture all over the fish, both inside and outside. Set aside to marinate for 10 minutes.
Crush the remaining garlic clove and combine with the stock cube, 1 tbsp mustard, 1 tbsp vinegar, a generous pinch of chilli powder and 1 tsp black pepper. Mix with the onions and set aside.
Heat the oil in a large pan. When hot, add the fish and fry until nicely browned and crispy on all side. Remove and set aside.
Add the onions to the remaining oil and fry, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes, or until browned. Now add in the strips of bell pepper and 100ml (2/5 cup) of water. Stir to combine, bring to a simmer and cook for 7 minutes over medium heat until the sauce has reduced.
Mix 1 tbsp mustard and 1 tbsp vinegar to produce a vinaigrette. Toss the salad with this. Slice the cucumber and halve the tomatoes. Marinate the cucumber with a pinch of salt, a generous pinch of black pepper and 1 tbsp vinegar.
Fry the plantain sliced until the outside is crisp and golden brown.
Serve the fish accompanied by the salad, tomato halves and cucumber. Serve with the fried plantains. This is typically accompanied with mayonnaise and French bread.
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