Crispy Dory with Sweet and Sour Sauce

Name: Crispy Dory with Sweet and Sour Sauce
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 10
Ingredients: Dory Fillet 500 g — 2 kg; All-Purpose Seasoned Flour — 400 g; Fritter Flour — 200 g; Natural Salt — to taste; Ground black pepper — to taste; Soybean Oil — for frying; Frozen Pineapple — 300 g (for the sauce)

Seafood⏱ 30 min🍽 10 servings📶 Easy

A menu item that keeps food cost sensible without shrinking the portion. Dory fillet is boneless and neutral in flavour, so it takes any seasoning — which makes it equally at home on a kids' menu, a rice set, or a catering tray.

Ingredients

Dory Fillet 500 g — 2 kgAll-Purpose Seasoned Flour — 400 gFritter Flour — 200 gNatural Salt — to tasteGround black pepper — to tasteSoybean Oil — for fryingFrozen Pineapple — 300 g (for the sauce)

Steps

Thaw the dory in the chiller, then press gently with kitchen paper to draw out the water. Dory holds a lot of moisture, and moisture is the enemy of crispness.

Cut into 80–100 g portions and season with salt and pepper.

Mix the seasoned flour with the fritter flour. Coat each fillet fully, pressing so the coating grips.

Rest for 5 minutes before frying — a coating that has settled will not slide off in the oil.

Fry in soybean oil at 175°C for 4–5 minutes until golden. Do not overload the fryer; a dropped oil temperature gives greasy results.

Drain on a wire rack, not on paper. Trapped steam softens the underside.

Make the sweet and sour sauce with thawed frozen pineapple, then pour over or serve on the side.

Tips from the Tavis Kitchen

If the menu must move fast: part-fry for 3 minutes, cool, then finish for 90 seconds on order. The result is crisper than frying once.
The 500 g fillet suits restaurant portions; the 1 kg pack is better value for catering and buffets.
Oil used for fish should not then be used for potatoes — the smell carries over.