Our Fried Fish Recipe is one of the best-fried fish recipes. This recipe is very simple and easy. Frying fish crispy and golden on the outside and succulent on the inside is a thing that defines what a perfectly fried fish is. It’s not difficult but somewhat tricky. Here I’m sharing the best tips to fry the fish perfectly at home, every time. Once you go through these key tips, you’ll enjoy all the features of a perfectly fried fish.
While frying fish at home, most people face the common problem that the fish remains raw inside. Another problem is its specific odor. In this Fried Fish Recipe, I’ll tell you how to get perfectly cooked inside and how to eliminate the odor.
I used fish steaks (halved), bone-in, and skin-on, but scales were removed. Steaks are the popular cuts for frying. It takes less time to make a fish steak than a fillet because steaks are often bone-in and skin-on. Fish steaks are less likely to fall apart than fish fillets. I used the shop brought fish; the cuts were already prepared.
This is a high-heat recipe. The secret to perfect fried fish lies in the higher temperature of the oil used for frying the fish and the coating applied to the fish. Usually, we use oil with a high smoking point. Oils that have high smoke points (400⁰ F and higher) include avocado oil (refined), almond oil, grapeseed oil, peanut oil, safflower oil, sesame oil, and sunflower oil. These oils are better suited for cooking at higher temperatures.
Fish, I Used in This Recipe
I used shop brought Rohu fish in this recipe. Rohu is found in rivers in South Asia and it is very commonly eaten in Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, and in many Indian states.
If we go into its history, the ancient recipe for fried Rohu fish is mentioned in the 12th-century Sanskrit encyclopedia, Manasollasa. The fish was marinated in asafoetida and salt and then dipped in turmeric mixed in water before frying.
With my fried fish recipe, any type of fish will equally yield a nice meal to enjoy.
Best Fried Fish
The best and perfect fried fish bears the following characteristics;
- Crispy crust, and, moist and tender inside
- Perfectly cooked interior
- Beautiful crispy golden crust
- No raw smell.
Here are the key tips to get the fish perfectly fried every time.
- Dual marination – first marination to overcome the unpleasant raw smell and second marination with fish fry seasoning to get the crispy and spicy crust.
- Deep fry the fish cuts so that they become evenly crispy and golden brown on all sides.
- Use the oil with a high smoking point.
- Heat the oil to the required degree before putting the fish into it.
- Before cooking, pat the fish gently to shake off excess batter from it.
How to fry fish perfectly on the stove!
Odorless Fried Fish
Wondering, how to overcome the unpleasant smell of the raw fish? It’s very easy. Prepare the mixture by combining salt, celery seeds (ajwain), garlic powder, ginger powder, turmeric, soy sauce, and white vinegar or lemon juice. Mix all the ingredients well. Now apply the mixture thoroughly to all the pieces and set them aside for half an hour. The odor of the fish will vanish with this method.
Fried Fish Batter
Make the batter to get crispy and spicy fried fish. Combine gram flour (basen), cornflour, ground coriander seeds, black pepper powder, spices powder (garam masala), red chili flakes, and red chili powder. Mix them well and use some water to bring it to a paste. Make sure that the paste is somewhat dense, not diluted.
Apply the batter evenly to all the cuts by rubbing gently on all sides with hands. Set them aside for 10 to 15 minutes again. The batter coating provides a delicious crispy texture and protects the fish from absorbing too much oil. Since fish is a more tender protein, the coating keeps the fish piece from breaking.
After resting, the fish is ready for frying.
Deep Fried Fish
I found deep frying is the best frying technique to fry the fish. Contrary to deep frying, other frying techniques may cause closer contact with the stove, causing the fish to brown and crispy unevenly on different sides. While deep frying ensures constant heat, which helps to get an even, golden and crispy crust every time. The food is cooked much more quickly and has a characteristic crispness and texture.
Deep-frying involves totally immersing the food in hot oil, which is normally used several times before being disposed of. The other advantage of deep frying is that the fish cannot adhere to the cooking surface and the fish batter stays intact with the piece turning into a perfectly crispy crust. Also, if we have many batches of fish to fry, then deep-frying is the best option. It is typically a much more involved process and requires specialized oils for optimal results.
Heating of vegetable oil to the required degree
Heat the oil to the required degree (375⁰ F) before putting the fish cuts into it for frying. Here is the secret; bringing the oil to the required degree of heat before we start frying, is an essential tip to get a perfectly fried fish. We can check it with a cooking thermometer. To check manually, if the oil is hot enough, drop in one piece of fish, if it starts frying vigorously, it’s the right time to put in more pieces to fry.
If frying the fish in batches, add more oil to maintain its required level and bring the temperature to the point essential for perfectly fried fish.
Shaking off excess batter
Before putting the fish cuts into the oil, shake off the excess batter by patting the fish gently inside the bowl. The excess batter may fall apart in the wok, which may burn and cause the burning smell and black bits may gather over the fish.
How long to fry fish
Pour the oil into a wok. Fill the wok up to 2-inch level. Heat the oil on high heat. When the oil will reach the required heat, set the flame to medium and start frying the fish. On high flame, the fish will burn from outside and the inner side will remain raw.
Fry fish on each side for 3 to 4 minutes and then flip the side. Take care while you flip the pieces so that they may not break. Fish pieces will take almost 15 minutes time till they get the perfect golden color. At this stage, the fish is fully fried to its inner side. Fry all the cuts in the same way and the best-fried fish is ready now.
Take the pieces out of the pan with the help of a strainer and hold the strainer over the pan for a while till the extra oil strained back into the wok. Land the fried pieces on a paper towel so that the towel may absorb excess oil from the fried pieces.
What goes with Fried Fish
Serve it hot with lemon wedges, sliced cucumber, and any sauce of your choice. Enjoy! the great taste.
You can garnish it with herbs like finely chopped fresh coriander leaves, dill, or parsley.
Best Tips
- Get rid of the odor of the fish by applying a mixture of salt, celery seeds (ajwain), garlic powder, ginger powder, turmeric, soy sauce, and white vinegar or lemon juice.
- To make the fish delicious, crispy and spicy, prepare the batter by combining gram flour (basen) and corn flour with these spices; crushed coriander seeds, black pepper powder, spices powder (garam masala), red chili flakes and red chili powder.
- Most of the time the shop brought fish has salt already sprinkled over it. So, add extra salt cautiously to avoid the excess of it.
- For deep frying use oil with a high smoking point.
- Use the medium flame to fry the fish in order to cook perfectly its inner portion and flip the pieces softly while frying.
- Serve fish immediately as it starts losing crispiness after 5 minutes of frying.
Fried Fish
Ingredients
- 1.5 kg Fish
- Cooking Oil (for deep frying) as required
Ingredients for the first marination
- 2 tsp Salt (or as required)
- 2 tsp Celery Seeds (ajwain)
- 1 tsp Ginger powder
- 1 tsp Garlic powder
- ½ tsp Turmeric
- 4 tbsp Soy sauce
- 4 tbsp Vinegar or Lemon juice
Ingredients for the second Marination (Fish Batter)
- 5 tbsp Gram flour
- 3 tbsp Corn flour
- 1 tsp Spices powder (garam masala)
- 3 tsp Red chili flakes
- 1 tsp Red chili powder
- 2 tsp Coriander Seeds (crushed)
- ½ tsp Black pepper powder
Instructions
Fried Fish Preparation
- Wash the fish with fresh water to clean it and place it in the strainer for 10 to 15 minutes to drain out the excess water.
- Mix salt, celery seeds (ajwain), garlic powder, ginger powder, turmeric, soy sauce, and white vinegar or lemon juice to make a mixture.
- Apply this mixture thoroughly and evenly to all sides of the fish pieces. Set it aside for half an hour.
Fried Fish Batter
- Now prepare the batter with gram flour (basen), cornflour, ground coriander seeds, black pepper powder, spices powder (garam masala), red chili flakes, and red chili powder. Mix well and pour in little water to form a dense paste.
- Pour the batter over the fish cuts and apply this batter evenly to all the sides, and set them aside for 10 to 15 minutes.
How to Fry Fish
- Put the oil in the wok and heat it on medium-high flame till it is ready for frying.
- Now set the flame to medium and start frying the fish. Flip the sides of pieces after 3 to 4 minutes. One batch of fish may take total 15 minutes till it gets perfectly fried.
- Fry the fish cuts till they get a beautiful golden color. Then take them out of the wok with a strainer. Keep the fried pieces in the strainer for a while till the extra oil gets strained back into the wok, and then put them over the paper towel in a serving dish.
- Serve hot with slices of lemon and cucumbers along with the sauce of your choice.
Video
Notes
Try this Fried Fish Recipe at home and share your experience in the comments section.
