I am really not a big fan of fish. I know I should be, I know that fish is nutritious, but I just do not generally love it.
However, I do like fish when it’s prepared this way, and my kids really, really love it. They rarely ask for second helpings of a main dish but when this is on the menu, they almost always want more!
The recipe comes from the Betty Crocker Chinese cookbook I bought when I was a teenager, and despite the fact that Betty Crocker is probably not the most authentic source for Chinese food, a lot of the recipes in the book are really tasty.
You don’t have to use tilapia in this recipe, of course…the original recipe called for walleye or sea bass, and I imagine many other fish fillets would work just as well.
First, pat the fish dry with paper towels and sprinkle with a mixture of cornstarch, salt, and pepper.
Refrigerate the fish for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, mix white wine, vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, and sesame oil together to make the glaze.
And while you’ve got the time, mince the garlic and the gingerroot so it’s ready to use later.
Heat a large skillet until it’s very hot and add 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, tilting to coat the surface of the pan. Add the fish and fry several minutes on each side until the fish is browned (the time this takes will vary depending on the thickness of your fish.)
I usually end up needing to add more oil to my pan during the cooking process, and even then, I still manage to mangle my fish pieces some. Fortunately my family doesn’t care too much!
Remove the fish from the pan and add garlic and gingerroot. Cook for 30 seconds, and stir in the sauce ingredients.
Add the fish back to the pan and spoon the sauce over the fish.
I apologize for the kind of boring end product picture…I must have not been feeling too inspired when I took these photos.
So, you’ll just have to take my word for it. This recipe is yummy and even if you don’t like fish, you might like it this way!
Asian Glazed Tilapia
Printable Asian-Glazed Tilapia Recipe
1 pound tilapia or other mild fish fillets
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons dry white wine (I use cooking wine because I am just that sophisticated)
2 tablespoons vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
4 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons roasted sesame oil
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 teaspoons finely chopped garlic
1 teaspoon finely chopped gingerroot
Pat fish dry with paper towels. Mix cornstarch, salt, and pepper; sprinkle evenly over both sides of fish. Cover and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
Mix wine, vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, and sesame oil together in a small bowl.
Heat a large skillet until it’s very hot, then add 2 tablespoons vegetable oil. Add fish and cook on both sides until fish is browned and flakes easily with a fork. Remove fish from pan.
Add garlic and gingerroot to pan and cook 30 seconds. Add soy sauce mixture.
Return fish to pan and cook for 1-2 minutes, spoon glaze over top of the fish.
FishyGirl says
This looks yummy! I look forward to trying it. We’re not big fish eaters either, but we’re working on fixing that. I was wondering, how do you go about mincing your ginger? I have a salmon recipe that calls for ginger, and I usually grate it on my box grater, but it gets all stuck to the grater and I have to take a fork and scrape between the teeth on the grater to get at the ginger and it’s a pain in the neck. There has got to be a better way. Maybe you or one of your wonderful readers can point me in the right direction?
Kristen says
I use the fine shredding side of my box grater from Goodwill (you can see the grater here: https://www.thefrugalgirl.com/2009/08/i-love-it-when-this-happens-2/ ). I tried using the mincing side (you know, the one that has sharp metal bits sticking out?) but that was a messy disaster. The fine shredding side works WAY better!
WilliamB says
No wonder you’re having trouble, a box grater is probably the hardest of your options! Here are some others in my order of preference:
1. Mince with a knife
2. Use a rasp or a small flat grater
3. Use a “ginger grater” – a small ceramic or metal dish with little bumps on it. Frankly I ‘m not fond of this unitasker but it’s easier than using a box grater. http://www.surlatable.com/product/kyocera+ceramic+grater.do?keyword=grater&sortby=ourPicks
4. Buy a bottle of pre-minced ginger.
If you don’t like a lot of ginger, you can make ginger-flavored liquid:
– Buy a piece of ginger at least a long as your first finger.
– Peel it, slice it; anywhere from paper thin to 1/4″ thick.
– Put in a jar Chinese rice wine, dry sherry, or asian rice vinegar.
– Store in fridge, it keeps for months or longer.
The ginger will flavor the liquid. I store my ginger this way, using both the dry sherry and the ginger.
About that liquid: authentic Chinese cooking uses Rice Wine – *not* sake – which is hard to find in the US. Dry sherry is the closest subtitute, Nuilly Prat is both inexpensive and suitable. White wine can be OK (clearly so for y’all, since your family likes it so much) but often tastes very unChinese. Cooking wine is cheap wine with a lot of salt added – does your dish come out very salty, Kristen? It comes out too salty for me! If I dont have dry sherry wine, I’ll use chicken stock with a bit of rice vinegar added (10% maybe?).
Rose@imafrugalgirl.com says
My Mother In Law makes something like this and it is just wonderful! She uses Cod I think. Yum!
Jess says
Tilapia is the ONLY fish I eat. I don’t like fish much at all, but I find that tilapia is less “fishy” than other fish and I can usually handle it. Sounds like a fabulous recipe!
melissa says
looks really good! Can’t wait to try it. I think it will go on next weeks menu! Thanks for sharing.:)
momcents says
How funny, yesterday I just used a gift certificate for a fish market that I’ve had on my fridge for three years. And one of the things I bought… tilapia! Obviously, I have to give this a try.
Theresa says
I have been waiting for this recipe and I even have some frozen tilapia to use! Love it when that happens.
De says
Good choice, using tilapia: it is listed as a sustainable seafood option. While “white sea bass” (croaker) is also, Chilean sea bass is not. It’s easy for you and good for the environment to educate yourself about seafood options before heading to the market.
This recipe sounds great and would be a nice accompaniment to rice and stir fried veggies.
Cate says
This looks yummy! We love tilapia, and I’m always looking for new ways to serve it. Right now I usually just saute it in a pan with some olive oil, salt, and pepper, and then either serve it with a lemon butter sauce or, Jason’s favorite, a hot and sweet sauce consisting of lime juice, sugar, fresh ginger, and jalapeno sauce. It doesn’t sound like much, but it’s delicious.
Kristin says
Oh very excited about this recipe. We are big Walleye fisherpeople (didn’t want to use fisherman because I am not a man:) and I am always looking for new ways to make it. We are spending the weekend fishing so this came at a perfect time!
Thanks Kristen
Linda says
My family loves fish and this recipe looks great! I’m glad I live near a huge fishing port because fish is so inexpensive here. Also, my kids go with their grandfather to fish and bring me back some great fillets.
Frugal Liz says
Now I wish I wasn’t a vegetarian!
Kristen says
Could you do this with tofu? I know nothing about cooking with tofu except that it’s bland and a yummy sauce could be good with it!
priskill says
I wondered if chicken would work (though the fish sounds yum) . . .
Linda says
It sounds good but I don’t keep wine in my pantry. Do you have a suggestion for a substitute?
Kristen says
You can use chicken broth.
jewels k says
looks sooo good!!!!!
Frugal Liz says
Kristen,
I can’t eat tofu anymore because I’m soy intolerant. Oh the irony!
Tammy says
Kristen, your fish looks delicious! We love fish at our house.
If I have enough sea bass left, I may be able to try this recipe using that! 
cagey says
I just made this with salmon and it was totally yummy! Will be sharing this link on Facebook.
Also, I did use rice vinegar, since the type of vinegar wasn’t specified. Again, YUM.
Kat says
Hi, I’m a frequent reader, rare commenter…I subscribe via RSS, so I read your blog pretty much every day
I made this for dinner tonight. I didn’t want to open a bottle of wine, so I used white wine vineager in place of the white wine, and rice vineager in place of the plain vineager. I also used Splenda instead of sugar. It was DELICIOUS! Thanks for such an easy, great tasty fish recipe!
Heather D. says
Thank you so much for the printable version. I’ve used many of ‘from The Frugal Girl’ recipes that’s easy to print and follow. I’ve tried your newest post Cornmeal Buns and that was delicious! I’m not a fan of fish either, but I’m attempting to do Asian-Glazed Tilapia. *cheers*
C. Pascal says
Oh My! This was absolutely unbelievable. I am eating this recipe as I type. The Taste of Asia melts in your mouth. It is good I will make it again. I feel like I am in a Chinese or Japanese restaurant! Thank you for the recipe, now a favorite of mine.
IndysMommy says
Loved it! Absolutely delicious! Can’t wait to make it again!
Jackie says
This was so good that my husband was begging me to make it the next day the second he finished it!