Crisp sweet and sour fish with jasmine rice

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 100°C with a wire rack set over a tray inside. Cut the peppers and onion into 2 cm squares. Drain the pineapple over a bowl, reserving 120 g juice, then pat the pieces dry. Peel the ginger and cut into fine matchsticks, chop the garlic and finely slice the spring onion greens. Dry-toast the sesame seeds in the wok for 2 minutes until pale golden, then tip into a bowl. Mix the sauce: dissolve 10 g cornflour in the 120 g cold pineapple juice, then add the 13 g soya sauce, sugar and vinegar.
2. Rinse the rice until the water is almost clear, put in a saucepan with 240 g water, bring to the boil, cover and cook over a very low heat for 12 minutes. Rest off the heat for 10 minutes without lifting the lid; it will be ready when the fish is glazed. Pour the 440 g oil into a deep-sided 20 cm saucepan, making a 1.5 cm-deep layer, never more than one-third of the pan's height. Do not turn on the heat yet.
3. Pat the fish dry with kitchen paper and cut into 3 × 4 cm pieces. In a bowl, beat the egg with 7 g soya sauce, 2 g salt and the pepper, then turn the fish in it. In a shallow bowl, mix the 50 g cornflour, flour and 1 g salt. Drain the pieces one by one, roll in the dry coating, pressing it onto every side, and place on a board; allow 8–10 minutes in total. Once the last piece is coated, heat the oil over a medium heat. It takes 5–6 minutes to reach 165°C, giving the coating time to adhere. Check with a chopstick before adding the first batch.
4. For the first frying at 165°C, a wooden chopstick dipped into the oil should be covered with fine, steady bubbles. Fry in two batches of about 220 g for 2 minutes 30 seconds to 3 minutes, turning halfway through with tongs, until the crust is set and pale golden. Drain on the rack in the oven. Let the oil return to temperature between batches, then keep it over a low heat.
5. Heat 10 g oil in the wok over a high heat. Stir-fry the onion and peppers for 3 minutes until coloured at the edges but still crisp. Add the pineapple for 1 minute, then reduce the heat to medium and add the garlic, ginger and tomato purée for 1 minute, until the purée darkens. Stir the sauce mixture, pour it in and bubble for 1–2 minutes until glossy and thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, leaving a clear line when a finger is drawn through it. Taste: it should be distinctly sweet and sour; add a splash of vinegar if too sweet. Turn off the heat and meanwhile heat the frying oil over a high heat.
6. For the second frying at 190°C, the chopstick should immediately produce lively bubbles. Return the fish to the oil in two batches for 45–60 seconds, until the crust is golden and dry to the touch, then drain on the rack for 30 seconds. Reheat the wok over a high heat, add the fish and turn it through the sauce for 20 seconds to glaze. Serve immediately over the rice, scattered with spring onion greens and sesame seeds. A piece opened up should be pearly and flake easily.