Thai-Fish in Garlic-Tamarind-Sauce
Ingredients for 2 people:

1 fish, about 1 lb  (any meaty fish. I love flounder/sole. Also possible: catfish, red snapper, salmon)

1 cup white wine (preferably rice wine)
plain flour
oil for deep frying

Sauce:
3 tbls garlic, finely slivered
1/4 cup green Jalapenos, thinly sliced
1/4 cup Habanero , thinly sliced
1/4 cup shallots, thinly sliced
1/4 cup coriander/cilantro sprigs (optional)
1/4 cup Asian fish sauce
1 tbs tamarind
1 tbs palm sugar

1/4 cup Sweet Basil
Pla Rad Prig Sam Rod
Cut three or four slashes in the sides of the cleaned fish (that helps to cook it faster and crispier), and sprinkle with the wine. Dust liberally with the flour. Add oil to a wok or pan, about half a cup or at least to the side of the fish. Fry the fish on low heat if you like it very crispy, which I do. It should take about 10 minutes on the first side. Don't try to loosen the fish from the pan until it is done, otherwise, the fish breaks up and you end up with not so pretty fish. When the first side is cooked, flip the fish to fry the other side. It should take about 5 minutes on this side. Remove and set it on a plate. You can increase the crispiness of the fish by putting it in the oven on 350 until the sauce is ready.

Sauce: Peel the Garlic, remove seeds and white fluff from the chili's and chop all fresh ingredients. In a saucepan or second wok, add a little oil to the hot pan, and stir fry the Jalapenos, Habaneros and shallots until fragrant. If you are using hot chili's (Habanero and Jalapeno belong to the chili-family), make sure you have proper ventilation because the fumes can irritate your eyes, nose and throat. Add the fish sauce, and bring to a gentle boil. Stir in the sugar and continue stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Add the tamarind and coriander leaves, stir occasionally until the sauce is slightly reduced (about 5 minutes). If the sauce gets too thick, add water. It should be the consistency of maple syrup when cooled. Taste and see if you need more sugar, tamarind, fish sauce or just water. The sauce should be sweet, spicy and sour.

Remove from the heat, and transfer to a sauce jug. Add the basil leaves when cool.

The fish, on a serving platter, and accompanied with a basket of khao niao (sticky Jasmin  rice), and the jug of sauce is presented to the diners, with the usual Thai table condiments (notably nam pla prik - chilis in fish sauce). I prefer however to cover the fish completely with the sauce and serve this way.

When I was still in Wiesbaden, my favorite Restaurant was the Thai-Orchid. My friends and I were the first guests when it opened in 1987. My favorite dish was Pla Rad Prik Sam Rod. This recipe is as close as I could get. A visit to the Thai-Orchid would be our start to "a night on the town". The Manager Mrs. Ananya became a dear friend of mine. I am now trying to convince her to start a business in Roswell!
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