Crispy Anchovies in Honey Lime Sauce

I've got a kg of non-salted natural dried anchovies from Sabah given by my sister and I saw the recipe in Chik Mimi's house the other day which matched what I had in mind. I added more ingredients to the recipe to suit my taste but credit still goes to Chik Mimi for the delicious sauce for coating. Kraaap...kruuuup...nyum nyum.... very crispy & tasty...! Compliments from hubby & sons. All gone in one day!

Source with compliments: Chik Mimi (Orig by Amy Beh)

INGREDIENTS: 

250g split and cleaned Anchovies

1 cup Tapioca Flour 

1 tbsp Sesame Oil

4 Dried Chillies - cut into sections

1 Onion - halved and sliced thinly 

6 Bird-eye Chillies - chopped

2 Calamansi Limes - squeezed for juice

3 tbsp Honey 

2 tbsp Water (HomeKreation: I skipped)

1 tbsp Fish Sauce

HomeKreation Addition:

Cashew nuts, sesame seeds, curry leaves

METHOD:

1. Rinse anchovies and soak for 10-15 minutes. 

Drain dry in a plastic colander then pat completely dry with several layers of kitchen paper towels. 

Toss in tapioca flour.

2. Heat some oil in a wok. 

Shake off excess tapioca flour from the anchovies and deep-fry until golden brown and crispy. 

Dish out and drain from oil.

3.  Heat the sesame oil in a clean wok, fry dried chillies, onion and bird’s eye chillies for a while. 

Combine lime juice, honey, water and fish sauce and add to the pan; bring to a boil until mixture turns frothy and thick. 

Return prefried anchovies to the honey sauce. Stir-fry briskly until well combined. Dish out and serve.