Crunchy fish?

[jamxz19]

I was trying to make sweet and sour fish. I used cornflour to coat the fish before deep frying it. but i was not able to cover the fish properly with the flour. I though I didnt feel anything different even though i added the corn flour as mentioned in the recipe.

any ideas folks?

thanks in advacnce.

 

[padams2359]

Hey Jam. Welcome. Give me the recipe. Just the basics. Wet Soak? Dry Mix? Temp of Oil? What you are doing for Sweet and Sour? And where are you in the process?

 

[jamxz19]

Hey Jam. Welcome. Give me the recipe. Just the basics. Wet Soak? Dry Mix? Temp of Oil? What you are doing for Sweet and Sour? And where are you in the process?

Thank you for replying. I am very new to this whole cooking thing
Yeah the recipe says to coat the fish with the flour in a shopping bag. I did that but i thought it didnt coat well for some reasons.I took the fish straight out of the fridge. Could this be the reason?

 

[padams2359]

No Egg/Milk/Seasoning dredge? Not that it is real important, but how old are you? Have been in your shoes, my mom was a horrible cook when I was younger. I figured I could not do any worse.

 

[jamxz19]

Nah no egg or milk. Just the fish and the flour. I like to think i did ok with the sauce part though.

I am 26 now.

 

[padams2359]

Been there. It is trial and error. Did you fry all the fish? There is nothing to bind the corn flour to the fish. There is no way I know of to fix it if it is already been fried. Do you have more fish? How much fish are we talking about, and what kind?

 

[jamxz19]

Yeah I still have some fish left. could use your advice I guess.

 

[bowlingshirt]

Try flour, egg wash, then flour again.

 

[padams2359]

Bowling, if he already fried the fish, I would just throw it out, and start over. How much fish are you talking about, and what kind?

 

[jamxz19]

Thank you. I will try that.

 

[Uncle Bob]

A mixture of Cornmeal and Cornflour is my method...More meal then flour!

 

[jamxz19]

Bowling, if he already fried the fish, I would just throw it out, and start over. How much fish are you talking about, and what kind?

sorry i dont know the kind of fish but about 1/2 pound.

 

[padams2359]

Im, coming J. Putting it together.

 

[padams2359]

Ok. Take 2 eggs, 1 cup milk, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon black pepper, and mix that together. In you bag of corn flour, add the same thing. You should have at least a cup of corn flour. If you have Lemon Pepper, use that instead of the black pepper. Heat oil to 350 degrees. It has to be hot because when you put the fish in, the oil will drop down, and you may end up with greasy fish. Fish cooks very quickly. If you do not have a thermometer, take one of the little balls of wet flour stuff and drop it into the oil until it immediately floats to the top and bubbles. Cook it about 2 minutes on each side then drain on paper towels.

 

[BreezyCooking]

Actually, many recipes - particularly Asian ones - just call for dredging the protein in plain cornstarch (aka "cornflour"). There is no additional liquid for "dredging" called for or required. I do it all the time & it comes out fine. (I particularly like oysters prepared this way.) However, keep in mind that food prepared this way isn't supposed to come out "crunchy" in the same way an egg wash/flour dip or tempura batter does. It's simply supposed to add just a little bit of surface searing/crispness to the food. Maybe you just didn't realize this & were expecting different results?

What form was the fish in - filets, chunks, whole? I've always used mine straight out of the fridge & the cornstarch (which is super fine) always clings to it like dust. I do always use a lot more flour than the recipe calls for to be on the safe side. (I always do the same with marinades - recipes, no matter what their origin, ALWAYS seem to be uber-skimpy in both the marinade & dredging amounts.)

 

[padams2359]

If you were just frying fish, I would tell you to add other seasonings, but you do not want to over power the sweet and sour sauce. I love sweet and sour fish. Usually only get it around here on Friday's in Lent. Got to love the Southern Catholics.

 

[padams2359]

I hear you Breezy. Oyster have all the liquid they need to hold anything, and any seasoning goes in the dry stuff. I guess in LA, we just add more, and expect it to have a nice crunchy breading.

 

[padams2359]

Jam, let us know how it turns out.

 

[jamxz19]

Jam, let us know how it turns out.

Sorry it was past near midnight when I posted the query, so I wasnt able to fry the fish.

It turned out good much to my surprise. I used eggs and cornflour as you have mentioned and yeah I heated the oil to the mentioned temperature and followed your advice.

Thanks a lot. People here are prompt and wonderful!.