Hoisin fish and ginger stir fry is one of those easy dinners that tastes like takeout without taking much work. If you’ve got 30 minutes and a pound of tilapia in the fridge, this is a good one to make. Hoisin and oyster sauce do most of the heavy lifting, giving you a rich, slightly sweet, savory sauce that coats the fish without needing a long list of ingredients.
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Tilapia gets a bad reputation as a boring fish, but that reputation is completely undeserved when you pair it with the right sauce. Hoisin brings sweetness and depth, fresh ginger wakes everything up, and the cornstarch slurry at the end turns the broth into a glossy sauce that clings to the fish and the carrots. It's the kind of thing you want to pour over a big bowl of rice.
I make a similar move with my lemon rosemary salmon - simple fish, big flavor, done fast. But this one has more of a Filipino-Asian weeknight energy, which is exactly the kind of dinner I want on repeat.
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Why You'll Love It
- Fast - On the table in under 30 minutes, start to finish
- One pan - Less cleanup, more eating
- Budget-friendly - Tilapia is one of the most accessible fish you can buy
- Big flavor - Hoisin and oyster sauce pack serious umami without a complicated sauce
- Weeknight-ready - No marinating, no special technique, no culinary degree required
Ingredients
- Tilapia - Fresh or thawed works fine. Pat it dry before adding it to the pan so it doesn't make the sauce watery. You can also use cream dory, basa, or any mild white fish.
- Hoisin sauce - This is what gives the dish its signature sweet-savory depth. Don't skip it or substitute with just soy sauce - the flavor won't be the same.
- Fresh ginger - Sliced into thin strips or minced, both work. Fresh ginger has a brightness that ground ginger can't replicate in a dish like this. If you can get it fresh, use it.
- Cornstarch slurry - This is what takes the sauce from thin broth to glossy, clingy sauce. Mix it just before you need it and pour it in slowly while stirring.
See recipe card for quantities.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Fry the tilapia. Cut the tilapia into serving pieces. Season lightly with black pepper and dust lightly with flour. Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat, then shallow fry the fish until lightly golden and cooked through. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
- Sauté the aromatics. In the same pan, sauté the garlic, onion, ginger, and tomato for 2 to 3 minutes until fragrant and the tomato starts to soften.
- Build the sauce. Add the hoisin sauce, oyster sauce, water, sugar, and black pepper. Stir well and bring to a gentle simmer.
- Add the carrots. Add the sliced carrots and let them cook in the sauce until just tender.
- Add the fish. Return the fried tilapia to the pan and spoon some of the sauce over the top.
- Finish and serve. Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed, then serve hot with rice.
Variations
- Swap the fish - Cream dory, basa, cod, or bangus (milkfish) all work here. Just adjust your simmer time based on the thickness of the fillets.
- Add more vegetables - Sliced bell peppers, snap peas, or baby bok choy fit right into this sauce. Add them with the carrots.
- Make it spicy - Stir in sliced bird's eye chili or a teaspoon of chili garlic sauce when you add the aromatics. It plays really well against the sweetness of the hoisin.
- Add tofu - Firm tofu cut into cubes can replace the fish entirely or be added alongside it for a heartier dish.
- Less sauce - If you prefer a drier stir fry, reduce the water to 1 cup and skip the slurry. You'll get a more concentrated coating instead of a pourable sauce.
What To Serve With This
Steamed white rice is the obvious move - the sauce is built for it. Spoon it all over generously.
If you want to round out the meal, a simple side of stir-fried greens works well. My Chinese stir fry garlic green beans are a five-minute side dish that goes with basically everything in this flavor world.
Garlic fried rice is another great option for leftovers the next day. Check out all the fish and seafood recipes on the site if you're building out a full Filipino-Asian dinner spread.
Rose's Top Tips
Don't stir the fish too much. Once the tilapia goes in, resist the urge to poke at it. Let it simmer undisturbed, covered. It will cook through without falling apart if you leave it alone.
Taste before you add the slurry. The sauce concentrates slightly as it simmers. Adjust the salt or pepper at that point, not after - adding the slurry changes the texture and makes it harder to taste accurately.
Add the slurry slowly. Pour it in a thin stream while gently stirring. If you dump it all at once you risk lumps or uneven thickening.
Low and gentle simmer wins. High heat will make the fish fall apart and the sauce reduce too fast. Medium-low once the fish is in.
Pat the fish dry. Water on the surface of the fish dilutes the sauce and slows down the simmer. A quick pat with a paper towel makes a real difference.
Storage
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days. The sauce will thicken further as it sits - add a splash of water when reheating and warm it gently over medium-low heat.
This dish doesn't freeze well because the fish texture changes significantly after freezing and thawing. Best eaten fresh or within a day or two.
Recipe FAQs
Yes. Just make sure it's fully thawed and patted dry before you cook it. Frozen fish releases extra water, which dilutes the sauce, so the dry step matters here.
You can, but the flavor will be different. Oyster sauce adds a savory sweetness that soy sauce alone doesn't replicate. If you're out of it, use soy sauce and add a small pinch of sugar to compensate.
A few things can cause this. The slurry may have been too diluted, or the heat was too low after adding it. Make sure you're at a steady simmer (not just warm) when the slurry goes in, and give it a full 1 to 2 minutes to cook and thicken.
No, they're different. Hoisin is sweet, thick, and soy-based. Oyster sauce is savory and briny with a slightly caramel depth. Both are in this recipe and they work together - don't swap one for the other.
Absolutely. Bell peppers, snap peas, zucchini, and baby bok choy all work well. Add firmer vegetables with the carrots and more delicate ones in the last 2 to 3 minutes of simmering.
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Asian Hoisin Fish and Ginger Stir Fry
Equipment
- Large skillet or sauté pan
Ingredients
- 1 pound tilapia fillets cut into serving pieces
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour, for lightly dusting the fish
- ½ cup oil for shallow frying
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 small onion sliced
- 1 medium tomato chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger thinly sliced or julienned
- 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
- 1 ½ cups water
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- black pepper to taste
- 1 piece carrot thinly sliced
For the slurry
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons water
Instructions
- Fry the tilapia: Cut the tilapia into serving pieces and season with black pepper and dust each piece lightly with all purpose flour. Shallow fry until lightly golden, then set aside.1 pound tilapia fillets, ½ cup oil, ¼ cup all-purpose flour, for lightly dusting the fish
- Sauté the aromatics: In the same pan, cook the garlic, onion, ginger, and tomato until fragrant and softened.2 tablespoon olive oil, 4 cloves garlic, 1 small onion, 1 medium tomato, 1 tablespoon fresh ginger
- Add the sauce: Stir in the hoisin sauce, oyster sauce, water, sugar, and black pepper. Bring to a simmer.1 tablespoon hoisin sauce, 1 ½ cups water, 1 tablespoon oyster sauce, 1 teaspoon sugar, black pepper
- Add the fish: Return the fried tilapia to the pan.1 pound tilapia fillets
- Add the carrots: Add the sliced carrots and cook until just tender.1 piece carrot
- Thicken the sauce: Stir in the cornstarch slurry and cook until the sauce thickens slightly.1 tablespoon cornstarch, 2 tablespoons water
- Serve: Taste, adjust seasoning if needed, and serve hot with rice.
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Notes
- Be gentle when stirring so the tilapia does not break apart too much.
- Slice the carrots thin so they cook quickly.
- Add a little more water if you want more sauce.
- For stronger ginger flavor, add a little extra at the end.
- You can lightly pan-fry the tilapia first if you want firmer pieces before simmering.
Jessie says
Ok this might be dinner tomorrow