Dressed up: Braaied yellowtail finished with spring onions, ginger, garlic, chilli and Asian condiments. (Photo: Tony Jackman)
A braai doesn’t always have to be a leisurely affair that lasts for hours. Light a fire when you get home, prepare a nice skin-on fish fillet or two, and supper will be ready before you know it.
More often, I ask for a whole butterflied yellowtail when planning a braai, but these had already been trimmed into sides; in other words, this was a side of yellowtail, skin on. If the two sides had been hinged in the middle, it would have been my usual butterflied yellowtail. Makes no difference to the cooking, however.
To brighten it up, I made a dressing of spring onions, garlic, fresh ginger and some Asian condiments. All that needed to be done was to spoon this over the fish once it had been grilled over the coals.
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The most important step when braaing fish is brushing the insides of the hinged braai grid thoroughly with cooking oil. If you don’t do this, the flesh and skin of the fish will stick to the grid, ruining your meal and your day.
Tony’s braaied yellowtail with a refreshing finish
(Serves 2)
Ingredients
1 side of filleted yellowtail, skin on
Cooking oil and a basting brush
Salt and black pepper
To finish:
¼ cup decent quality extra virgin olive oil
3cm piece of peeled ginger, sliced thinly into short batons
3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
2 spring onions, diced
1 red chilli, finely chopped
A drizzle of chilli oil (such as Banhoek)
A dash of soy sauce
A splash of rice vinegar or sherry vinegar
Juice of 1 lime or ½ a lemon
Salt and black pepper
Baby wild rocket sprigs for garnish
Method
For the dressing, heat the olive oil in a small pot and add the ginger and garlic. Simmer gently on a low heat for 3 or 4 minutes. Leave to cool.
Slice the spring onions and chop the chilli and stir into the ingredients in the pot. Add the chilli oil, soy, vinegar and citrus and stir. Leave aside.
Make a fire and ensure you will have plenty of coals and a clean hinged braai grid. Sterilise the grid in the heat of the fire. Brush or scrape any ash residue on the insides of the grid.
Brush the insides of the sterilised grid with cooking oil, top and bottom.
Pat the yellowtail dry and brush both sides with cooking oil. Season both sides with salt and pepper. Place the fish down on one side of the grid, and clamp it shut.
Place the grid over hot coals (not too close), skin side down at first, and cook for 10 minutes. Turn and cook for a few minutes more, but not more than 5. It’s done.
Use a fish slice or two spatulas to lift the fish neatly on to a platter. Spoon the dressing over the top, garnish with wild rocket, and serve with rice or noodles or a crisp salad. DM
Tony Jackman is twice winner of the Galliova Food Writer of the year award, in 2021 and 2023
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