Guidelines currently suggest that we eat fish at least once a week. Yet many of us fail to do so. It's a common, misguided belief among less enthusiastic home cooks that preparing fish is difficult or complicated.
Some don't have the confidence to choose what type of fish to cook with or complain when they find bones in it. Maybe you even have one of these fish pessimists in your family, who refuses to eat fish and always have an excuse at hand. Other common comments are that the fish is too dry or perhaps tastes too fishy! Why not prepare this baked basa recipe to change these people's minds?
It makes cooking with fish as easy as you can possibly imagine, as well as succulent and flavourful at the same time. This time, I served my baked basa with vegetable noodles but as always you can put your own twist on it. A truly enjoyable dish!
About Basa Fish
The basa is a freshwater fish native to Vietnam and its neighboring countries in Southeast Asia. It is a lean white fish with firm meat and few bones, and has a mild taste similar to cod or haddock. If you are American, this will remind your of catfish.
the vegetable noodles
To keep in line with the Asian flavours in the BBQ sauce provided, I picked noodles. My vegetable noodles comprise egg noodles, chili, carrots, spring onions and sugar snap peas. I love to use sugar snap peas in noodle and wok dishes. The sweet taste and the crunchy texture complement noodles perfectly.
Other possible vegetables to use could be strings of courgette, sliced bell pepper or mushrooms. In addition, you can try adding and handful of shitake mushrooms in there to get an earthier note to the flavour. You can also add small bouquets of broccoli or cauliflower, or if you want to go even more Chinese, bok choy. Even courgetti will work! To get those Asian flavours going, you can inspire yourself with more delicious fish recipes like the coconut fish curry or the Thai fish cakes. If you want to go low carb, then check out this baked seabasss recipe with avocado and carrot salad.
Most importantly, aim to get all the elements of the dish, fish and noodles, ready at the same time. Just imagine the steaming hot noodles on the plate, still with a good crunch in the vegetables just as the basa comes out of the oven.
alternative sides
I love to cook noodles because it’s so easy to create something full of flavour in no time at all. If you're not so keen on noodles and prefer to go gluten free, you can serve the baked basa with boiled basmati rice and fried vegetables instead. Don't forget about rice noodles! You can also steam some vegetables such as courgette, spring onion or even bok choy. This tweak will change it into an even lighter meal - perfect for a January diet, if you believe in those!
serving and seasoning
Make sure that you serve the dish steaming hot, with the sauce poured directly onto the fish. To finish it off, I have sprinkled the dish with chopped spring onion, chillies and fresh coriander. I find that this adds the final touch of Asian flavour to the baked basa. As always, this bit is completely optional. You can leave the coriander out or replace it with the herb of your choice. In this case, chives or watercress could be good alternatives if you're not a fan of coriander. The good thing about this dish is that it can easily be scaled up. Especially, to serve more people without adding much to the preparation time. It’s great option if you need to feed a large family or group of friends on short notice.
As with most fish dishes, the bakes basa doesn’t get better the next day. Therefore I do not recommend to save the baked base for the next day’s lunch or dinner. Instead serve and eat the baked basa immediately after cooking it.
What is your favourite way to prepare white fish?
Print📖 Recipe
Baked Basa with Vegetable Noodles
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Ingredients
- 4 basa fillets
- 15ml (1 tbsp) oil
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 1 red chilli, washed and sliced
- 2 carrots, peeled and julienned
- 120g (4oz) mangetout or sugar snap peas, washed and trimmed
- 4 spring onions, trimmed and chopped
- 30ml (2 tbsp) soy sauce
- 30ml (2 tbsp) honey
- 250g (½lb) dried egg noodles, cooked
- 60ml (4 tbsp) coriander leaves, washed and chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 160°C/180°C fan/320°F/gas 4.
- Wrap the fillets separately in foil and bake for 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, heat the oil in a wok and fry the garlic and chilli on a high heat.
- After 1 minute add the carrots, peas and spring onions and stir for 2 minutes.
- Add the soy and honey, then the noodles.
- Stir until everything is evenly coated with sauce.
- After 20 minutes cooking time, the fish should be ready. Remove from the oven.
- Divide the vegetable noodles between the plates and top with a fillet of fish.
- Sprinkle with coriander and serve immediately.
Notes
- Alternatively, buy The Saucy Fish Co.’s Basa with Asian BBQ Sauce and use the oven bag provided to cook the fish in. When serving the fish, serve with the heated barbecue sauce on top.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Main Course
- Cuisine: Chinese
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 284
- Sugar: 12.2 g
- Sodium: 533 mg
- Fat: 7.2 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.7 g
- Carbohydrates: 32.5 g
- Fiber: 2.9 g
- Protein: 23.3 g
- Cholesterol: 18 mg
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sharon martin
just lightly seasoned and grilled
michelle
🙂
Jayne Kelsall
I actaully love fish cooked on a BBQ, wrapped in foil with, lemon and some herbs .x
michelle
sounds delicious... plus I love when those juices stay ... yum
Natalie Crossan
I love baking it in the oven with nice herbs x
michelle
me too x
Natalie White
Fried in breadcrumbs with garlic butter - gorgeous!
michelle
agreed 🙂
EMMA WALTERS
i tend to foil bake fish a lot to keep n the moisture and flavours
michelle
great idea
Solange
I like smoked haddock and potato pie or grilled Parmesan cod.
michelle
ooo, parmesan cod sounds delicious
Jayne Townson
My kids love fish, so I grill it for them adding a bit of fresh garlic and a few herbs.
★★★★★
michelle
sounds amazing
Tracy Nixon
I like to coat it in breadcrumbs and pan fry -my dad fishes and often brings home fresh cod and haddock, which he guts and we cook!
★★★★★
michelle
luuuuucky!!!!
Tracey Peach
I have to admit I don't cook much white fish I just put salt & pepper & I usually eat it on it's own too
★★★★★
michelle
sometimes, simplicity is best :)) and if the finish is delicious, why not :))