I found myself at 5:15 staring at a ziplock bag of mostly unfrozen fish. I've never cooked fish in my life. I had been given instructions to put the olive oil in the pan, and cover the pieces of fish in breadcrumbs. So I cut open the bag and began covering the first piece. Once all the pieces were covered I turned on the oven and put the oil in there. I tried to ignore the smell, it wasn't as "fishy" as some but it wasn't pleasant either.
I then had to find some sort of untinsil to flip said fish over with. Does it need to be metal? I used a black plastic spatula. It didn't melt upon contact so I'm thinking that it was an okay decision. I turned the fish three or four times and managed to only get spattered with oil twice. I call that an accomplishment seeing as the oil was popping all over the pan like molten hot lava.
Nonethe less I managed to find the kiddie plates hidden beneath the good china, make a bag of rice and corn in the microwave (this technology thing works in my favor sometimes) and plopped the food in front of the kids. Amazingly enough they ate it, but a tip to the wise: If you have a babysitter, just order the pizza.
But hey, I can say I've made fish now!
Glad you made the fish work! Tilapia is a relatively easy fish to work with. Catfish is also very simple and tasty. Salmon is only slightly more complex, if only because of its thickness. But a lot of fish fillets can be cooked pretty simply in a pan, like this...
ReplyDeletePat-dry each fillet with a paper towel, and season each side with a pinch of salt and a little black pepper. Olive oil in the pan, heat until it shimmers, and lay the fillets in the pan. They should sizzle. However, flip them only once. For a thin fillet like tilapia, cook the first side for 4 minutes, flip, and the other side for 3 minutes. For catfish, maybe slightly longer. For salmon, cook on the first side until the color change reaches about halfway through the fillet, which you can see on one of the cut sides. That might take 5 minutes or so, depending on heat level and thickness. Cook the second side a little less. (It'll be done; don't worry.)
Of course, covering the fish with bread crumbs before you cook it is good, too. Add a little "zing" to your bread crumbs with a good sprinkle of granulated garlic, a dash of ground cayenne pepper, and/or any dried herb or spice you're in the mood for (such as oregano and/or thyme for an Italian accent, cumin and coriander for Mexican/Mediterranean/Indian, turmeric or curry powder for south/east Asian, etc.) Or, you could forego the bread crumbs and just sprinkle some of these extra seasonings directly on the fish before cooking it in the pan. Experiment! Good food is how you like it.
Another alternative, especially for something like catfish, is to use a fork to whip an egg in a bowl, dip each fillet in the egg, and then coat the fillet with corn meal, salt, and pepper. Then cook in the pan until golden brown on one side, flip, and cook the other side until it too is golden brown. Watch it carefully--it won't take long.
Thanks for the advice. Hopefully I won't be so scared the next time it comes to me and fish in the kitchen!
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