Pan Fried Crispy Whole Fish

It’s been some weeks I had shared a fish recipe with you all. I got fresh Tilapia fish and was planning to prepare something special using this big fish. Initially I thought of grilling the same, but the recent posts of my blog was of grilling and barbecue recipes. So, how about trying a pan fried fish with double marination ?

Don’t get confused or worried with the word double marination. It is the process of making a marinade using spices and rubbing with it initially and later coating the marinated fish with all purpose flour. You can substitute all purpose flour with wheat flour for a healthier version of this recipe. But I had used all purpose flour since the taste is absolutely perfect with this batter.

Always make sure the fish is washed and cleaned properly. After cleaning, make closer gashes over the fish. It is to make the marinade reach the inner flesh of the fish, as it is a big fish. If there are less gashes, the marinade won’t get spread evenly on the inner side of the fish. So, making gashes using a sharp knife is an important part of this recipe.

I had taken the whole fish for this recipe, instead of dividing it into 2 to 3 parts. Take a large mixing bowl and add all the spices required for preparing the marinade. Mix well and rub it evenly on the fish. Leave it undisturbed for minimum of 30 minutes and then coat the marinated fish with all purpose flour. So, this becomes the second marinated coating over the first marination of fish using spices.

Heat oil in a pan, preferably non-stick pan. Add the fish to this hot oil. The flame should be low to medium. Do not flip the fish before it is done. You can see the fish will detach itself from the pan when one side is cooked completely. So, this is the time you need to flip the fish. Similarly cook the other side also.

Take out the fish from pan and transfer it to a plate. You can see that the outer layer of the fish is crispy and the inner flesh is too soft and fluffy. Serve this pan fried fish with fresh salads and special rice.

Russian salad is a good accompaniment for this pan fried fish.