There is no doubt that fish is a healthy and tasty food. Almost everyone knows that fish tastes good in many fish cooking methods. The worst things that may happen are undercooked fish and overcooked fish. The adequately cooked fish will be opaque, tender, moist, and flavored.
To make it reach the most excellent taste without lowering the nutrition contents, below are some healthy ways of fish cooking:
Table of Contents
1 Pan-frying Fish
Pan-frying or sautéing is often considered one of the fastest ways to cook fish. This method is best for cooking low-fat white fish that needs a short time to be cooked. Pan-frying allows you to leave the fish naked or coat it with breadcrumbs. However, you have to know that the time and the heat depend on the thickness of the fish. The thick one will need lower heat and take more minutes to pan-fry.
Meanwhile, the thin fish can be pan-fried over high heat in a shorter time. Many think pan-frying is healthier than deep-frying since it uses only a tiny amount of oil. It is believed that the pan-frying cooking method is the way to generate delicious fish without adding fats or other unnecessary calories.
2 Deep-frying
Some people think that deep-frying is not a healthy cooking method. They claimed that deep-frying uses a large amount of oil that adds many calories to the fish. This statement may be true—however, some ways to reduce the excess fat from the food.
You can either completely strain the extra oil from the fish or wipe the fried fish with kitchen paper towels before consuming it. Besides that, using clean and new cooking oil of good quality will also help prevent the increase of unnecessary calories.
3 Poaching
Poaching is also an effective way of cooking fish. It cooks the fish in a seasoned liquid until the spices are completely absorbed into the fish and then flakes. The healthier fish dishes depend on the drink you choose. Water with herbs is many people’s choice.
However, some others tend to use fish broth or vegetable broth. The good thing about the poaching method is that it does not add extra fats to the dish. Besides, the poached fish is usually delicious and tender.
4 Grilling fish Cooking methods
Grilling is a perfect cooking method for many fish since it cooks the fish fast without making it dry. The grilling method works well with the whole fish and thick fish steak. However, to make it perfect, you have to baste butter or oil on the fish and the grill grate.
This is done to avoid the fish sticking on the grill, which results in an evil look to the grilled fish. The grilled fish will flake quickly, so staying near your fish during the grilling time is better.
5 Baking
Perhaps, baking is the simplest cooking method for fish. You must season the fish and place it on a baking sheet covered with aluminum foil or parchment paper. And then bake it. The baking time will take approximately 10 minutes for every inch of thickness.
Any fatty fish like tuna and salmon will not require extra fat or liquid. However, you need to pay attention to the lean fish, which tends to dry out.
6 Soup or Stew
Although it only needs a few minutes to cook, there is no doubt that soup and stew are many people’s favorites. It can be eaten on both sunny days and cold nights. The hot gravy will warm your body, while the aroma and taste will enhance your appetite. Since soup and stew use a little oil or often not at all, they are considered healthy ways of enjoying fish.
Cooking Fish
Additional information Cooking fish is now more accessible a lot. Below are some additional information and tips and tricks to help you feel more comfortable cooking fish
• You should never be afraid of frozen fish. Some people may think frozen fish has a lower quality than fresh ones. However, this is not true. As frozen fish from trusted suppliers is frozen at sea, that means right after it is caught, the frozen fish indeed has the same quality as the fresh ones. Another benefit of frozen fish is that it is usually cheaper and easy to store.
• Since fish is gentle, it is recommended to marinate the fish, not for a long time. The suggested time to marinate steak fish is one to two hours, while the flaky fish should be marinated for no more than 30 minutes.
• To get crispy fish skin on the pan-frying cooking method, you must use a stainless steel pan or a cast-iron skillet. They are for sure can withstand the high heat. Put the fish fillet with the skin side down and press it until the skin is ultimately touching the pan. Be patient and flip the fish at the right time. It will undoubtedly unstick itself when it is ready.
• Normally, people use breadcrumbs for crispy fried fish. If you want to add a crunchier texture to it, you can replace half of the breadcrumbs with cornflakes. This method also works for all fried fish recipes in this book.
• To know which the fish has already been cooked through, you could gently press the fish when it almost reaches the end of cooking. If you feel that the fish is firm, it means it is done. Besides that, you can also cut the thickest part of the cooked fish. It should be opaque and flaky.
• Fish will continue cooking for the next one or two minutes after removing it from heat. That is why; it is recommended to take the fish from heat when you think it is almost done. This Trick is to ensure that the fish is not overcooked.
• If your cooked fish comes out too dry, you can save it by basting a melted butter and lemon juice mixture over the fish. The butter will help make the cooked fish a bit moister, while the lemon juice holds the combination together.
• It seems that there is nothing to do if you accidentally burnt the fish you cook. However, as long as it is not too burnt and the fish can still be eaten, you can neutralize the burnt aroma by adding some chopped parsley to the dishes. Your dinner is saved!