Breading and Frying Fish

[BoyWithSpoon]

hello all,
I suppose I should introduce myself since this is my first post. I am young lad (22) who's recently begun to develop a fiery passion for the flaming oven. The only problem is that I really don't know anything about cooking! So, that's why I'm here.

Last night I tried to do something new {i.e. not just making frozen pizza! }: I tried to bread and fry fish.
Now, I've seen my mom do this every once in a while, so I didn't think it would prove that difficult. gosh, was I wrong.
I'll leave out the embarrassing parts and just leave it at this:
I couldn't get the fish pieces (flounder) to stay whole, I couldn't get it to hold a normal layer of breading, and the frying... I won't even go there.

regarding the frying, I had an additional question: I'm trying to lose wieght and eat healthier in general. now, when my mom made this type of fish, it was always drenched in oil. I was wondering if there was another way to make this that didn't involve oil, or basically, I'm looking for a healthy way to prepare this dish.

Thank you all in advance for your help.
-BoyWithSpoon

p.s. is fish healthy? looking at the nutritional information, I see that its loaded with cholesterol (though my roommate thinks it might be "healthy" cholesterol.)~
p.p.s. any recommended spices to apply to this dish?

[Andy M.]

BwS:

Welcome aboard!

Fish is a relatively healthy food to eat. All animal products contain cholesterol. You need to look at it relative to other sources.

To fry fish, you should follow a multi-step process:

1. the fish pieces or filets should be patted dry.
2. set up a three containers - one with seasoned flour, one with seasoned egg wash (eggs and a little water beat together) and one with bread crumbs
3. Coat a piece of fish on flour and shake off the excess
4. dip it into the egg wash and let the excess drip off
5. coat with bread crumbs

To fry successfully, the oil must be hot. If it's not hot enough, the food will absorb the oil and make it greasy.

When it's hot, place the breaded fish into the pan. Cook until the bottom is GBD (golden brown and delicious) and turn once. When the second side is GBD, remove to a paper towel to catch the remains of the hot oil. Serve with a slice of lemon.

You can also bake breaded fish and skip the oil altogether. The taste is different. Both can be good.

[Gretchen]

What fish is full of cholesterol? Salmon has fat that is Omega3=good for you. Most fish are VERY low fat, particularly flounder.
Try tilapia for a firmer fish and quite good. Do Andy's thing. Panko or instant potato flakes (not buds) are also excellent for coating fish.

[BoyWithSpoon]

Thank you both so much!

At the risk of revealing how much of a newbie I am, I'll hazard the inquiry: "what precisely do you mean by 'pat dry'?"

thanks again,
BoyWithSpoon

[Gretchen]

Just like you would dry your hands--but you don't rub--just pat so you don't hurt the fish. It makes it possible for the breading to stick.

[BoyWithSpoon]

thank you again!

and does anybody have any recommended seasoning ideas (I like the lemon one), or any other ideas to make this dish nicer?

thank you all again!
BoyWithSpoon (aka, the newbie)

[GB]

Originally Posted by Gretchen

Just like you would dry your hands--but you don't rub--just pat so you don't hurt the fish. It makes it possible for the breading to stick.

Let me add that you pat it dry with paper towels.

And...Welcome to the site

[Andy M.]

For comparison purposes:

100 grams Flounder - raw Cholesterol 48 grams
100 grams Chicken Breast - raw Cholesterol 58 grams
100 grams Filet Mignon - raw Cholesterol 70 grams

The American Heart Association recommends a diet which contains no more than 300 grams of cholesterol a day. If you already have heart problems, they recommend a max of 200 grams. So choose your foods carefully.

[jkath]

Seasonings - wow! There are so many!
There's a nice one that is called Lemon & Herb that's a no-salt one, probably made by a common company like Lawry's, also Lemon-Garlic is a nice seasoning blend.

[BoyWithSpoon]

thank you!
so, I pat it dry on paper towels (don't rub), then stick it in some flour (which will stick, even though its dry~?), then the eggs, and then the crumbs. right?

and I can fry it or also bake it (how would I bake it? temp and time?).
oh, and is there a healthy alternative to frying with oil? (or a preferable oil?)

thanks again!
BoyWithSpoon