Must Know Tips for Preparing a Fish Recipe
posted in Handy Tips |Fish is nutritious and easy to cook. Chinese, especially, must have a fish dish during special occasion meals, such as reunion dinner during the Chinese New Year. Fish, in Chinese is pronounced as “Yu”, which means “abundance”. Well, eventhough preparing a fish dish is simple, you have to know the methods of preparing the freshest dish possible.
First of all, knowing how to choose a fresh fish is important. It is easy. Basically, there are 3 easy ways. First, look at its eyes. Choose the fish with crystal clear eyes instead of blurry ones. Next, open the fish gill and see if it is bright red. Dark red or greyish indicates the fish is not fresh. Lastly, just gently press on the fish body. You would want to choose the fish with a firm body. I prefer to prepare the fish steamed simply because it brings out the freshness of the fish and healthier. White pompret, for example, is best eaten steamed. However, sometimes the fishy smell can put one off. To get rid of the fishy smell, just squeeze some lime juice and rub it all over the fish. Then, scour the fish with boiling water. Quicky drain the fish and place it on a plate. Put some seasoning and ginger over the fish and steam it. Please refer to my steam fish recipe.
There are some bigger fish variety which is great for steaming as well, such as threadfin (ma yau) or snapper. These fish is usually sold in cut slices. Since the fish is cut, how do you know if the slice is freshly cut? Easy. Look at the flesh of the fish, it should be firm to the touch and has a glazed surface.
If you prefer to fry, why not try shallow fry instead of deep fry which consumes more oil? With shallow fry, the fish is as tasty and cripsy. Just fry with less oil in a non stick pan. Pour the oil just to over the surface of pan. Make sure the oil is hot, so that it will not stick on the pan when turn over to fry the other side of fish. Fry both sides till golden brown.
