There are so many things to love about the cuisine of Thailand. Curries of all colors, noodles of all shapes and sizes and beautifully garnished platters served with fresh herbs. Satays and barbeques loaded with exotic flavors. Don’t forget the seafood. Lots and lots of seafood. Today we’re going to make a Thai spiced white fish that’s pan fried until it’s crispy on the outside and perfectly cooked in the middle.
Use any firm white fish
I chose a fish dish because we came across some hake in the fish market. The fishmonger cut the fish into loins and I finished trimming the pieces when we got home. We had enough for two people plus some pieces that will be used to make a chowder later on.
All of the spices used to season the fish should be readily available. In fact they’re commonly used in other cuisines. The only one I had difficulty finding was the ground coriander. I ended up having to buy the seeds and grinding it in my mortar and pestle.
The secret to frying the fish is to cover the bottom of the pan with oil and heat it until it shimmers. You should hear the fish sizzle when added. Don’t fiddle with it until you see the color begin to change on the sides of the pieces, about a minute or two. Then flip it and cook for another minute or so. It should be crispy on the outside and flaky on the inside. In other words, perfect.
One of the hallmarks of Thai cuisine is the balance of flavors: sweet, sour, salty, bitter and spicy. The spice mix provides three of the five. A little lime juice squeezed onto the cooked fish takes care of the sour element and you can serve a sweet chili sauce or something similar on the side for dipping.
We served our Thai spiced fish with some stir fried bok choy, a dish for another post.
Ingredients
- 1 pound hake, cod or other firm white fish; filleted and cut into fingers or nuggets
- Oil for frying I used sunflower oil
- lime for squeezing over the fish
- parsley or cilantro for garnish
- 1/4 cup cornstarch or tapioca starch divided
For the spice mix (feel free to change the amounts to suit your taste)
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
- Mix the spice mix together and set aside.
- The fish should be dry. Use a paper towel to blot it if necessary
- Mix half the cornstarch and half the spice mix on a paper plate.
- Dredge the pieces of fish through the mix, shake the excess off and arrange on a plate.
- Replenish the mix as necessary. If you have any spice mix left over you can dust the pieces with it before or after frying.
- Heat oil in a heavy bottom skillet until shimmering. Add the fish in batches and fry for a about two minutes on each side. The color of the fish changes as it cooks and it should release easily when it's time to turn.
- Drain on paper towels.
- Squeeze the lime juice over top of the fish and garnish with freshly chopped parsley or cilantro before serving.
Your recipe looks wonderful! I love Thai cuisine and this spiced fish recipe sound amazing. Saving it to try later 🙂
Thanks for saving the recipe, Oana. Hope you like it 🙂
I must admit I don’t think I have had hake before, but your recipe looks absolutely delicious!! I ll have to try to find it. Is there a particular store you buy it from? Thanks!
Any firm white fish will work; like cod, tilapia, orange roughy. It’s a popular fish in Spain and available all over. They call is merluza here. It’s long and skinny with an impressive mouthful of teeth! If you can’t find it in the grocery store, try the fish market.
Thanks, Lydia! I will try the fish market. 🙂
This looks incredible, you have me craving fish right now, pinning this to try!
Thanks, Sara. We enjoy fish and other seafood a couple times a week. It’s nice to have different ways to prepare it 🙂
Love the tips on frying the fish in the cast iron skillet. So helpful, and this sounds so delicious!
I’m looking forward to trying the spice mix on other fish, chicken and even tofu 🙂
I love Thai Food! Going to have to try this!
It’s such a nice way to cook fish. Usually I use flour or cracker meal. I’m looking forward to trying it again. Thanks!
Yum, this sounds delicious! I love thai flavours – we had the best fish dishes when we visited a few years ago. This version sounds delicious 🙂
I would love to go. My brother in law and his wife have been and loved it.
Lydia, your recipe looks wonderful!! We eat fish a few times a week and this would be absolutely perfect. Thank you for sharing the recipe!!
Hope you enjoy it, Marisa 🙂
I love Thai flavors too, this fish sounds so light, fresh and delicious!
Thanks, Joy. It was great! We’re already planning to make it again 🙂
Seeing these beautiful morsels frying in your skillet give me cause to do almost anything to be there; thanks for the delicious inspiration – it looks just wonderful!
I’d love to try this with some freshly caught perch. Wow 🙂
I never cook Thai for some reason! Weird, because I love it. Love this recipe — so flavorful and simple. My kind of food! Thanks.
It can be involved, especially if you’re making the curry paste from scratch…it’s often better to eat it in a restaurant where they know what they’re doing, hahaha. This one is so easy and flavorful and the seasoning will work for Mexican and other Asian foods, too.
So true about Thai cooking being a balance of all the flavors. You fried your fish to perfection, nicely done. Pinned.
Thanks Diane, for pinning and hosting 🙂
who can refuse fried fish – ever!!!
Not me!