One of my family's favorite restaurants is Newport Seafood in Rowland Heights, and one of my favorite dishes there is the fish fillet with basil. Last week, I bought a package of frozen orange roughy (we could all use more fish!), and wanted to do something different with it rather than just baking or steaming it and topping it with a sauce. I thought back to the Newport dish, mulling it over in my head for a couple of days until finally attempting to recreate it tonight. Let me just say...OFF THE HOOK! It tasted pretty close to the restaurant version and none of it was left over at the end of our meal. I can't wait to make this for my parents!2 fish fillets, sliced into bite-size pieces
1/2 cup flour, seasoned with garlic salt
1/2 cup basil leaves
2-3 cloves of chopped garlic
3 tbsp King Soce black pepper steak sauce (99 Ranch or TJ's carries something similar)
In a stir-fry pan, heat up enough oil to cover half the fish. Dredge the fish in seasoned flour, fry each side until lightly browned and drain on a paper towel. Dump out the used oil and heat up about a tablespoon of fresh oil. Add the garlic and cook until lightly browned, then add the basil and about 1/3 cup water, and give it a stir before adding the pepper sauce. Finally, toss in the fish pieces until each is completely coated, taking care not to break them.
The best way to enjoy this is to serve it over rice and you'll want to make sure you have plenty of sauce, so adjust the amounts of water and sauce to taste. The one thing I left out from the restaurant version is the jalapeno pepper. Personally, I like just a hint of heat but Ken doesn't so it wasn't a big deal exclude it. I also made stir-fried fresh egg noodles with beef, broccoli and green onions, and fish paste patties.
