Crispy Catfish Curry

This recipe appears in the Make It From Scratch carnival at the carnival's homepage. If you came from the carnival, welcome!

This Vietnamese dish is really delicious. My grocery store sells catfish "nuggets" and that's what I use instead of fillets. This is based on an Emeril Lagasse recipe with some changes by me!

1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons Essence seasoning mix (recipe below)
1 1/2 pounds catfish fillets
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup chopped yellow or red bell pepper
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 to 3 tablespoons Red Curry Paste, or to taste
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 cups shrimp or chicken stock
1 cup canned, drained bamboo shoot strips (garbanzo beans also work really well)
Big bag of spinach, roughly torn
Salt 1/2 cup julienned fresh Thai basil, if unavailable use Italian basil
Steamed Jasmine Rice

Preheat oven to 200 degrees F.

In a shallow bowl, combine the flour and 1/2 teaspoon Essence. Season the fish on both sides with the remaining teaspoon Essence.

In a large, heavy skillet, heat 1/2 cup of the vegetable oil to 360 degrees F.

Dredge 2 of the fillets in the flour, coating evenly and shake to remove excess flour. Fry the fillets until golden brown, about 4 minutes on each side. Remove with a slotted spatula and drain on paper towels. Repeat with the remaining fish. Keep the fish warm in the oven while preparing the curry.

To prepare the curry heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a wok over medium-high heat. Add the bell peppers and cook, stirring, until soft, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add garbanzo beans if using. Add the curry paste and soy sauce and stir to combine. Add spinach, sauté until just wilted. Add the stock and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to a simmer and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the bamboo shoots and stir to combine. Add the fried fish and cook until fish is heated through, about 1 minute. Season, to taste, with salt.

Remove from the heat. Stir in the basil and serve with jasmine rice.

Emeril's Essence

2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon dried leaf oregano
1 tablespoon dried thyme

Thoroughly combine all ingredients and store in an airtight jar.