Seasoned pan fried flatfish

Today I’m going to share my delicious seasoned flatfish recipe using fluke. It’s crispy fried fish coated in a delicious, sweet, salty, garlicky sauce. I use fluke in my recipe, but you could use any type of flatfish. And I cleaned mine but you can ask your fishmonger to clean it for you, and even cut it into pieces for you.

I shot this video on a recent trip to Montauk, Long Island. The fluke was so fresh, this dish was incredibly juicy with a soft, pliant texture! While editing the video I had a serious craving to make this again. I considered running to Chinatown to find a good fluke, but finished editing the video instead. : )

I know some people will be a little uncomfortable with the idea of cooking with so many fish bones in, but that’s the way Koreans enjoy it. I can’t imagine making this dish with fish filets. As Koreans say, it would be like a helicopter without a propeller. Something critical is missing!

Enjoy the recipe, and if you make it, let me know how it turns out!

Ingredients

• 1 whole fresh fluke (or flounder, or any flatfish) about 2½ pounds, scaled with guts removed
• ½ cup potato starch (or corn starch)
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• ⅓ cup vegetable oil

For the seasoning sauce:

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 green onions, chopped
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• ¼ cup water
• ¼ cup rice syrup (or sugar, or honey)
• ½ teaspoon Korean hot pepper flakes (gochu-garu)
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

Directions

Prepare the fish

1. Cut the fish into several pieces crosswise. Wash and drain and put them in a bowl. Sprinkle each piece evenly with the salt and refrigerate for at least for 30 minutes, or overnight.
2. Coat each piece with the potato starch powder.

Cook the fish

1. Heat up a large pan and add a generous amount of cooking oil.
2. Put the fish in the pan and lower the heat to medium. Let cook for 5 to 7 minutes until the bottoms get crunchy and light golden brown. Then flip them over.
3. Turn down the heat to low. Cover and let cook for about 10 minutes. You’ll see the sides of the fish pieces look opaque, which means they’re cooked thoroughly.
4. Flip over the fish once more. Turn the heat up to medium high to make the fish nice and crunchy and golden brown. Take the fish off the pan and turn off the heat.

Make seasoning sauce and coat the fish

1. Heat up a large skillet with 2 tablespoons vegetable oil. Stir-fry the garlic for a minute until it’s light golden brown and crispy. Lower the heat to medium.
2. Add soy sauce, ¼ cup water, rice syrup, and hot pepper flakes. Keep stirring until the sauce is bubbling.
3. Add green onion, stirring for 30 seconds before turning off the heat.
4. Add the sesame oil and stir.
5. Take a piece of the cooked fish and dip in the sauce to coat. Transfer it to a serving plate. Repeat it with the rest of the pieces.

Serve

1. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve as a side dish for rice. Leftovers can keep in the fridge up to a week, eat them cold or reheat in the microwave or on the stove with a few drops of water.