I accomplished a lot this weekend. I watched Fast and Furious 4, 5, and 6, in anticipation of seeing 7. I organized my posts so I can get a working recipe index for my blog. I got most of my recipes up and linked for a working recipe index and I cooked the perfect piece of fish. Cooking fish may not seem like much of an accomplishment to the average person but for me it is huge. I always overcook my fish to the point of being inedible or undercook it to the point of being inedible. Every. Single. Time. Fish is the bane of my culinary existence. So when I get a piece of fish with a coating that is golden brow and still stuck to the fish and the fish is cooked all the way through, it gives me a great sense of accomplishment.
The recipe came from Mollie Katzen’s Get Cooking cookbook. The cookbook is full of basic recipes, both vegetable and meat, for the beginning cook. Even if you aren’t a beginning cook, the recipes in this book are quick and easy, for nights you are hungry but don’t really want to cook.
The key to the successful frying of fish is to start with hot oil in a hot pan then, after adding the fish, turning down the heat and not messing with the fish until it is time to flip it. This is the hardest part for me. I always want to make sure the crust isn’t burning or the fish is cooking through. Don’t do it. Just leave it alone and let it cook. The cooking time will depend on the thickness of your fillets. The first few times you make this recipe experiment a bit to find how you like your fish cooked and what it takes to get it there.
Crispy Panko Fried Fish
Ingredients
1/4 – 1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs
1 egg, beaten until a uniform yellow
2 pieces of cod, about 4 ounces each
Salt and pepper
1 TBS Butter
1 TBS Canola oil
In a small bowl, beat the egg until it is a uniform yellow color. Place the Panko on a small plate. Pat the fish dry as possible with a paper towel. Dip the fish into the beaten egg. Allow the excess egg to drip off then dip in the panko bread crumbs, coating each side well; set aside. Place a pan, I Like my cast iron pan for this, over high heat. After it has heated for a few minutes add the butter and canola oil. It is ready to add the fish when a flake or two of Panko hits the pan and the oil immediately sizzles. Add the fish and reduce the heat to medium. Now comes the hard part, for the next 3 to 4 minutes, go make a salad, read the mail, the dog, kiss your significant other, anything but don’t touch that fish. After 4 minutes flip the fish and leave it for another 4 minutes. Determine if the fish is done to your liking. If it is, plate and eat. If it isn’t cook till it is then plate and eat.
Adapted slightly from Mollie Katzen’s Get Cooking
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