.jpg)
OK, not really, but alternatively it's a really cheap, fast, easy, and tasty dinner (all of my basic requirements) and on top of all that, it's pretty healthy too!
So first off, I'm in love with fish because it cooks in like 1/10th of the time as chicken (and unlike chicken, it's hard to overcook). While my top choice is a delicious salmon (see pan-seared salmon recipe...), the problem with having salmon (or most fish vs chicken, say) is that it's often pricey and hard to find fresh...this is why I sometimes prefer white fish. Catfish in my opinion tastes kind of like mud. Tilapia on the other hand, while flaky and deliciously tender, doesn't really have much taste at all. Bad if you're making Tilapia Steaks, but great if you're making practically anything else as you can flavor it yourself to fit about any dish. Also, it's dirt cheap and available in almost every grocery store. Score!
A really common way of cooking fish is to fry it, but as I am afraid of hot oil: a) because I think I could really hurt myself, b) because it's super messy and takes a lot of effort to work with, and c) because I don't really like to see how much fat goes into making a really tasty restaurant dish. So I LOVED this fast, easy, healthy alternative: Oven "Fried" Fish
Ingredients (per 80z fillet):
1 Tilapia Fillet (defrosted and cut into 2in 'chunks')
3 tbs milk
2 tbs cornmeal
1 tbs salt
1/2 tbs pepper
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
(optional: hot sauce)
1. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees
2. Prepare cookie sheet lined with parchment paper -- You can use a regular cookie sheet and just spray with cooking spray, but the parchment really helps the fish from sticking.
3. Pour milk into small bowl (add a few shakes of hot sauce if preferred).
4. In a plate, mix dry ingredients: cornmeal, salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder
5. Dip fish chunks in milk mixture.
6. Dip fish in dry mixture, turning and sprinkling to ensure fish is evenly coated. Try to coat as much as possible, although it's ok if fish is a bit wet to touch.
7. Arrange fish on cookie sheet, bake for 10-15 minutes (turning once if desired) or until golden brown.
You can eat these "fish sticks"...plain with ketchup, hot sauce, tartar sauce, and/or lemon...in a sandwich...or you can use these as the basis for a crispy fish taco! For fish tacos, I would add some mexican hot sauce or jalapenos to the milk mixture and maybe some chili powder to the dry mix. For toppings, see my post on fish tacos!
Enjoy :)
