Asian Glazed Baked Barramundi recipe

Baked fish can be so bland. So dial up the delicious factor by slathering with an Asian BBQ Sauce, then roast until caramelised! Savoury, sweet, with a hint of spice and a whole lot of yum. We’re making Baked Barramundi here, but almost any firm white fish will work for this recipe.

Asian Glazed Baked Barramundi

The reason pan-fried fish is so much tastier than just sticking it in the oven is because you get good browning. Colour = flavour with anything, whether it’s vegetables or meats. Fish fillets simply cook too quickly in the oven to get any colour on them.

So how do you make baked fish tastier and more interesting? You could:

1. Bake it with a sauce – like in this Baked Fish with Lemon Cream Sauce (long time reader favourite!);

2. Bake it with a crunchy crumb – like this Parmesan-Crumbed Fish, or these Fish Fingers; or

3. Serve it with an assertive sauce, such as:

   • Chimichurri

   • Pesto

   • Hollandaise or Béarnaise Sauce

   • Salsa Verde

   • Lemon Butter Sauce

   • Romesco Sauce (Spanish red capsicum sauce)

   • A tangy and creamy sauce like Creamy Dill Sauce

   • Any of these Seafood Sauces; OR

4. You can slather it with what we’re calling an Asian BBQ Sauce, which caramelises beautifully in the 20 minutes it takes to bake fish perfectly in the oven! Just think your favourite BBQ sauce like we use on pork ribs – but with Asian flavours. Savoury, sweet, a hum of spice and tons of flavour!

What you need for the Asian BBQ Sauce Glaze

Here’s what you need for the Asian BBQ Sauce Glaze:

• Chinese Five Spice – A store-bought mix of spices used extensively in Chinese cooking made with (wait for it…) FIVE different spices. I know, you fell off your chair in shock. 😂 Commonly found nowadays in grocery stores;

• Sichuan pepper – For a hint of the Sichuan pepper signature cool-and-numbing heat. It’s really not a big deal if you leave it out however. Just add a dash of pepper instead;

• Sambal oelek – A chunky chilli paste for a hint of chilli heat. Don’t have it? Just use sriracha or other similar Asian chilli paste;

• Chinese black vinegar OR rice vinegar – Black vinegar has a distinctive flavour, rich and dark, a bit like Asian-y balsamic. So it does add a touch more flavour into the glaze while also deepening the colour of the glaze. But it really is not a big deal if you use rice vinegar instead;

• Soy sauce – Either all-purpose or light soy sauce. Don’t use dark soy sauce, it will be far too intense. More on different types of soy sauces here;

• Honey – The main sweet element. Substitute with maple syrup or brown sugar;

• Mirin – A Japanese cooking wine used to add depth of flavour, and a little sweetness. Substitute with Chinese cooking wine, Japanese cooking sake, or if you can’t have alcohol, chicken stock (see recipe notes);

• Garlic and ginger – Fresh, please!

• Sesame oil – Toasted, ie. the bronze-coloured sesame oil, because it has more sesame flavour. Untoasted sesame oil is yellow, and is harder to find in Australia; and

• Cornflour/cornstarch – Used to thicken the glaze.

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Fish for Asian Glazed Baked Fish

I used barramundi in this recipe. The meaty and juicy flesh makes it ideal for the bold flavour of the glaze, and the fillets are thick enough to make them suitable for cooking in the oven.

See below for a list of other suitable fish .Any thick-ish, firm, white fish fillets will work a treat here!

Skin on or off? Either is fine, it really won’t affect the bake time. But the skin won’t be crispy. If this is a turn-off for you, just eat the flesh and leave the skin.

Other fish suitable to use

This recipe is suitable for most fish fillets around 2.5cm/1″ thick. We need it that thick so it doesn’t cook through too quickly before the glaze has a chance to caramelise (~18 minutes).

Fillets this thick will generally come off a larger fish. Here are some suggestions:

• Jewfish (mulloway)

• Snapper (if a large fish)

• Hoki

• Tilapia – the thick part (reduce oven cook time to 12 minutes)

• Cod (any)

• Grouper

• Monkfish

• Halibut

• Pollock (aka coley)

• Ling

• Emperor

• Striped bass (not all bass is suitable), hake, gummy shark

• Salmon or ocean trout also work but there might be too much flavour going on as the glaze is quite intense!

Remember, the shape of fish means that you get thick cuts from the main body as well as thin cuts from towards the tail. Opt for the thicker cuts!

Fish to avoid

I recommend avoiding:

• Fish that dry out easily when cooked – Like swordfish, tuna, bonito, kingfish, marlin, mackerel. Unless you’re extremely careful they can become dry inside so are very prone to overcooking in the oven. I feel these fish are (mostly) better in raw/rare form such as Ceviche, Poke Bowls, Tartare;

• Delicate fish, thin-filleted, long narrow or small fish – Like flounder, sole, plaice, whiting, bream, dory, basa, hoki, flathead, deep sea perch (Orange Roughy). These fillets are too thin or too long and narrow to cook in the oven using this glaze because they cook too quickly; and

• Oily, “fishy” fish – Like mullet and sardines.

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How to make Asian Glazed Baked Barramundi

I wish more recipes of mine only had FOUR process step photos! 😂

1. Simmer Glaze – Place all the glaze ingredients in a saucepan and simmer;

2. Thicken to paste – Simmer for a few minute until it becomes very thick. It needs to be borderline paste-like so it sticks on the fish. If it’s just syrupy, the sauce will just slide off the fish;

3. Brush/dab glaze on to the fish – the top and the sides; and

4. Bake then broil/grill – Bake for 15 minutes at 180°C/350°F, then switch to the grill/broiler for 3 minutes to get a gorgeous caramelisation on the surface. Really, don’t skip this step! You get great extra flavour. 🙂

The target internal temperature of white fish cooked in the oven is 55°C/131°F. More on this below.

What to serve with Asian Glazed Baked Barramundi

The Asian Glazed Baked Barramundi is shown in this post with a side of Coconut Rice and cucumbers tossed with Asian Sesame Dressing.

The glaze and juices from the fish are flavourful enough to serve it with plain steamed rice. Choose from white, jasmine, basmati or brown rice. Or for a low-carb option, cauliflower rice (really, it’s not just healthy but delicious!).

For flavoured rice options, try one of these:

As for vegetables and salads to serve on the side, here are some suggestions:

It’s dawned on me writing this that I’m a little short on Asian side salads. Time to start building up my stash. 🤔 Keep an eye out for more in the coming weeks! – Nagi x

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Watch how to make it

More baked fish recipes

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