Ingredients
- 1 whole Rock Cod, Cleaned and Scaled
- generous handful fresh coriander
- handful fresh basil
- lemon slices or wedges for serving
Marinade/Sauce:
- 4 Tbsp. oyster sauce
- 4 Tbsp. soy sauce
- 8-10 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
- 1 Tbsp. fish sauce
- 2 Tbsp. brown sugar
- 1/4 tsp. black pepper
- 1 Tbsp. lime or lemon juice
- 1-3 red chilies, sliced, OR
- 2+ tsp. Thai chili sauce (adjust the amount according to how spicy you’d like your fish)
Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Stir all marinade/sauce ingredients together in a bowl. Set aside.
Place washed fish on a cutting board and carefully score it, making vertical cuts an inch or more apart along the length of fish from head to tail. Turn fish over and do the same on the other side. Place each fish on a large piece of tin foil. Make sure the foil is big enough to cover/wrap the fish. Now drizzle 3 Tbsp. (or more) of the marinade/sauce over each fish, covering both sides. Be sure to spoon some into the cuts you’ve made, as well as into the underside cavity. Bring the long sides of the foil up and over the fish, scrunching it together. Try to keep the foil off the surface of the fish, making a kind of tent over it. Also fold up each end and scrunch to secure. You can now bake the fish (in foil) directly on your oven rack.
Bake at 375 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes, depending on the size and thickness of your fish (larger fish will take 20 minutes).
Remove fish from oven and check some of the deeper cuts to see if inner flesh is cooked (it should be opaque, not pink or translucent-looking).
If fish still needs more time, return to your oven for another 8-10 minutes, or until cooked. To finish the fish, remove from oven and open up the foil, scrunching it around the fish to create a kind of bowl. Pour remaining marinade/sauce over fish and return to the oven (without re-covering). Turn oven on “Broil” (“high” setting if you have one), and broil for 5-8 minutes, or until the fish is nicely browned and crisp-looking (like barbecue fish). Remove from the oven and sprinkle with fresh coriander and basil.
Add lemon wedges or slices, and ENJOY!