go to the sea without the boat - recipe: pan fried tilapia with mango and nuoc nam sauce

I often imagine living by the sea. I love the smell of the salt lingering in the air, the sound of the waves and the peaceful feeling that I have whenever I am near the ocean.

Ah . . . a girl can dream. For now, mentally transporting myself to the beach through reading my favourite magazine, Coastal Living, will have to do.

The magazine is “for people who love the coast” and month after month, I am inspired by the beautiful beach homes, exotic locales and coastal kitchen recipes.

Whether we like it or not, bathing suit season is just around the corner! I’m trying to cook a bit lighter to look a bit lighter, and seafood fits the bill. I’m also trying to squeeze in a few more workouts — which is harder now that John is almost two and starting to resist the jogging stroller. Luckily for me, I recently won a free trial membership to Columbia Lake Health Club. I can’t wait to try Zumba, a dance-fitness program.

This week’s recipe is from the April 2010 edition of you guessed it, Coastal Living. I knew I had to try it as soon as I read it. I’ve lightened it up a little by omitting the cream and pan frying the fish instead of shallow frying it. The original recipe calls for yellowtail snapper but it wasn’t available so I substituted tilapia.

I’ve made some lower-cal fish dishes over the last few weeks, but I want to share this one with you because it is so good.

pan fried tilapia with mango and nuoc nam sauce

serves four

ingredients

• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup cornstarch
• 3 tablespoons of canola or peanut oil
• Four 6 to 8 ounce tilapia fillets
• Hot cooked rice

method

• Combine milk and egg in a large shallow bowl. In a separate large shallow bowl, combine flour and cornstarch
• Place tilapia in the flour mixture, coating both sides and shaking off excess.
• Dip the tilapia into the egg mixture and then back into the flour mixture, shaking off excess.
• Pour three tablespoons of oil into a large sauté pan and heat over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, place tilapia into pan, and fry for three minutes on each side or until golden brown and crispy.
• Serve immediately over hot cooked rice with Nuoc Nam sauce, mango and jalapeno.

nuoc nam sauce

ingredients

• 1 mango, peeled and diced
• 1/2 to 1 fresh jalapeno, thinly sliced (use more if you like it spicy)
• Ingredients
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
• 1/2 jalapeno, thinly sliced

method

combine all ingredients