Salmon is the most consumed fish in America but how come you never find it in a Chinese restaurant? Because in Chinese cooking, a white fish is preferred for its milder flavor and flakier texture. Traditionally, this white fish is flounder but since flounder is very expensive, many Chinese restaurants have replaced flounder with a suitable substitute. Introducing the basa fish which is also known as swai fish. This freshwater fish is typically imported from Southeast Asia and is a cousin of the catfish.
When I used to work at a Chinese buffet restaurant, one of the most popular dish there was the baked fish dynamite. It’s very simple to make and kids from 1 to 92 would love. Okay, maybe not kids between 1 to 5. Every time I host a gathering at my house, I would do this dish instead of salmon because it’s more forgiving to overcooking and make a good presentation and it’s a lot easier to do than it looks.
Ingredients
- 4 basa or swai fillet (~½ pound each)
- 1 egg
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1 tsp dashi powder
- 1 tbsp sugar
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp white pepper
- 1 tsp sriracha (optional)
- 1 stalk of green onion (for garnish)
Even though we are using a whole cup of mayo, but once it’s mixed with the egg and baked, it does not taste greasy at all because the added egg transforms the mayo into a fluffy souffle. We also whip the eggs to add air into the sauce.
Directions
First, rinse the fillet and pat dry with a kitchen towel. Place them next to one another on a baking sheet.
Beat the egg until starting to froth and foam, about 1-2 minutes. Then fold in the mayonnaise, dashi powder, sugar, garlic powder, and white pepper. Mix well until everything is incorporated. You can add sriracha to give this dish a nice kick. Now that we have kids, I’ve cut down on adding heat to the dishes.
Spread the sauce over the fish fillet so it’s completely covered in a thin layer.
Bake in the oven at 400° F for about 15-20 minutes in the middle rack. If the fish is browning too fast, cover with foil for the last 5 minutes.
Remove and sprinkle green onions as garnish and serve. Since this is usually for a large group, I leave it in the baking sheet and just let guests dig in using a spoon or a pie server.
Variations
If you can’t find basa or swai fillet, you can substitute with any other white fish like sole or halibut or cod. Also, you can easily transform this to a seafood dynamite by adding shrimp and scallops. To do this, cut up the fish into bite size pieces and mix with the shrimp and scallops into the sauce and put into a casserole container and bake for 20-30 minutes at 375° F.
- 4 basa or swai fillet (~½ pound each)
- 1 egg
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1 tsp dashi powder
- 1 tbsp sugar
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp white pepper
- 1 tsp sriracha (optional)
- 1 stalk of chopped green onion (for garnish)
- pat dry the basa fillet and line on a baking sheet
- mix all ingredients together until well beaten
- pour the dynamite sauce over the fish, spread evenly
- bake in the oven at 400° F for about 15-20 minutes until golden brown on top and the dynamite sauce has solidified
- sprinkle green onions and serve
Magnificent!! Everyone loves it! Thank you for sharing this amazing recipe!
Glad to hear. It’s one of my favorites too 🙂 ~Mike
Well, I forgot to check your reply and did not double up the sauce this time. But, it was a hit at the party and I’ve passed along your website/recipe to my friends! 🙂 Thanks for a terrific recipe! Super easy to make!
that’s no problem! Glad it worked out 🙂
Hi Michael,
I am going to try to make this fish dish tomorrow, but I have 3 lbs of fish to use. Will this sauce be enough or should I double the recipe?
Thanks!
For me, it’s better to have more sauce than not enough! So yeah, I would double up the sauce unless you want to calculate the exact ratio of 3:2 😉