Baked Humpty Doo Barramundi with tom yum

Baking a whole fish is one of the simplest, yet most effective ways to prepare plate-size barramundi. Rather than going for a dry bake, we’ve baked the barramundi on a brothy tom yum-inspired bed of aromatics and tomato, so the fish roasts and steams at the same time, taking on all the beautiful flavours.

 4 serves
20 mins
40 mins
EASY

Ingredients 

2 pl ate-sized Humpty Doo Barramundi
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 Spanish onions, thinly sliced
2 tbsp finely grated ginger
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
400g grape tomatoes or cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup tom yum paste
150g oyster mushrooms, larger ones torn
8 lime leaves
2 lemongrass stalks
Juice of 2 limes, plus extra lime wedges, to serve
Fried shallots and coriander sprigs, to serve

Coconut rice
1½ cups jasmine rice
270ml can coconut milk
3 kaffir lime leaves

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 200°C. Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat, add the onions and fry, stirring occasionally for 6-8 minutes until very tender. Add the ginger and garlic and sauté for another minute or two until fragrant.
  2. Add the cherry tomatoes to the pan, sauté for 4-5 minutes until beginning to soften, then stir in the tom yum paste until fragrant. Add oyster mushrooms, lime leaves, lemongrass and 2 cups water and bring to the simmer. Transfer to a large roasting pan.
  3. Slash 3-5 incisions in each side of the Humpty Doo Barramundi, place on top of the tom yum mixture and drizzle with a little extra oil. Roast for 20-25 minutes until just cooked through. 
  4. For the coconut rice, combine rice, coconut milk, kaffir lime leaves, 375ml water and 1 tsp sea salt in a saucepan, stir over medium heat until simmering. Cover with a lid, reduce heat to low and cook for 15-20 minutes until rice is tender and all the liquid is absorbed. Fluff with a fork and keep warm.
  5. Transfer barramundi to a large platter and spoon over tom yum sauce. Scatter with fried shallots and coriander and serve with coconut rice, with extra lime wedges for squeezing.