Anyhow, this particular case of tilapia is...fishy. I mean, it's fish, yes, but I was at a loss. I usually just steam tilapia with ginger, top it with soy sauce, and call it a day. I've had to get creative with these filets. In the past I've had good luck with breading and pan-frying them, but I wanted something different tonight. These filets were inspired by this recipe I posted a few months ago. This was a hit with everyone, including the impromptu dinner guest that stopped by "just to say hello."
I served this with leftover white jasmine rice and sautéed romaine lettuce (tossed with 1 Tbsp. oyster sauce and 1 tsp. sugar). With the filets thawed out, and leftover rice in the fridge, dinner took all of 15 minutes from cupboard to table. Easy peasy!
Coconut Garlic Tilapia
8 tilapia filets
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp. molasses
5 cloves of garlic, sliced
3 dashes salt
5 dashes fresh cracked pepper
1. Preheat oven to 400F. Arrange tilapia filets on a baking sheet or 9x13 pan.
2. In a small mixing bowl, use a spoon to combine the (hard) coconut oil, brown sugar, molasses, sliced garlic, salt and pepper. Adjust seasonings to taste.
3. Top each filet with a heaping spoonful of the sugar mixture, dividing up the entire bowl of the sugar mixture evenly across your filets.
4. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until filets are cooked through and the topping has melted and started to caramelize.
Serve with rice and a green veggie. Enjoy!
