Tilapia and asparagus with spicy Japanese mayo

If you think you’ve eaten too much meat during the Christmas weekend and you want something lighter and healthier for the New Year weekend, fish is a good alternative.

This tilapia and asparagus with spicy Japanese mayo dish was inspired by the asparagus with spicy mayo that we enjoyed at Miyabi Japanese Restaurant a couple of weeks ago.

Serves 6.  

Ingredients:

6 tilapia fillets, seasoned lightly with salt and pepper
½ c. of all-purpose flour
600 g. of baby asparagus
2 hard boiled eggs, shelled and roughly chopped
2 c. of vegetable cooking oil for frying

For the sauce:

1-1/2 c. of Japanese mayonnaise mixed with 6 tsps. of hot chili sauce (I used Mama Sita; you many need more or less than 6 tbsps. depending on the spiciness of your brand of sauce and your level of tolerance for spicy food)

Place the asparagus in a shallow pan. Pour in about ½ c. of water. Sprinkle with a little salt. Bring to the boil and simmer for about five minutes. Dump the asparagus in a bowl if iced water to stop the cooking. Strain well. Divide into six portions and arrange at the center of six dinner plates.

Heat the cooking oil in a wok or frying pan until slightly smoking. Dredge each tilapia fillet in flour; shake off the excess. Fry in the hot oil (in batches, if necessary) until golden brown, flipping the fillets halfway through the cooking to brown both sides evenly.

Drain the tilapia fillets on absorbent kitchen paper then arrange on top of the asparagus. Spoon the sauce over the tilapia fillets and asparagus. Sprinkle the chopped hard boiled eggs over the sauce. Serve at once.