There are many ways to cooking fish, but you cannot beat fried fish with flour. Frying fish at home is easy and will not take much time to cook. And the result is a lovely crispy, golden brown fish. I’ll cover the several types on flours you can use to coat the fish.
Which Flours Can You Use For Fried Fish?
Adding some flour to the outside of fish will give a nice light coating that will help the fish stay crunchy and cook evenly. Below I’ll cover the several types of flour you can use for coating your fried fish with.
- Wheat Flour
- Corn Flour
- Rice Flour
- Self-Raising
- Soya Flour
- Corn meal
Wheat Flour
Typically, wheat flour is the most traditional, which is great, but I prefer ground rice and corn flours. Because they are ground finely and have a light consistency, they tend to adhere better to the fish and won’t break off in large chunks.
Corn Flour
Corn flour is a familiar flour that will be available on any grocery store. Corn flour is made from grinding corns and has a light colour and texture. This is a common ingredient for coating fried foods. Curry powder adds a nice flavour to the fish as well as making it look fantastic. I love it with corn flour as it gives a nice yellow colour to the fish. Sorry I am getting a bit ahead of myself.
Rice Flour
Rice flour is made from grinding rice and has a light colour as well. Rice flour is an excellent choice for coating fried foods.
Self-rising Flour
Self-raising is good for coating fried fish because it helps to keep the fish from sticking to the flour coating, having a light colour and texture. Just remember it to adjust the amount of salt as its already in the flour.
Corn meal
Corn meal is an excellent coating for fish because it creates a crisp outer layer that also has a nice flavour to it. The main coating used in traditional fish and chips. Corn Flour is lovely as coating for fish. It’s high in protein and a good source of iron, riboflavin, thiamin, niacin, vitamin B6 and folate. The flour is a nice yellow colour which makes the fish look golden and looks great with the sweet chili sauce.
Rice
Rice Flour is something I never really tried until recently and I can tell you now it is awesome. Why? Well because it gives the fish a nice crunch and I find that it can hold moisture to much better than wheat flour.
Soya Flour
Soya Flour coating tastes great and has a nice crispy bite to it. It is very light and aids with the even cooking of the fish.
So, we have covered the flours now you will need to add some seasoning to your flour mix otherwise it will taste bland. Obviously salt and pepper are a good start, but you can also use other spices to add flavour. You can add any seasoning you like. Curry powder, cayenne pepper and coriander are my favourite seasoning for fish.
Don’t be afraid to experiment with different seasonings in your flour to make it your own
Don’t be afraid to experiment with different seasonings in your flour to make it your own. I like to add a teaspoon of curry powder, half teaspoon of cayenne pepper and a tablespoon of coriander seeds for every cup of flour. It adds a nice flavour to the fish as well as making it look fantastic.
Cooking the Fried Fish with flour
OK we have a fried fish flour next; we need to apply it to our fish. To do this, I like to hold the fish by hand and then apply a liberal amount of flour on both sides of the fish.
- Pour oil in the pan to heat up until it’s very hot about 350 degrees Fahrenheit. You’ll
be able to tell when the oil is heated, it will begin to bubble around the edges of the pan. You will notice the bubbles or roils as they are known as. When you see that you’re good to go. You don’t want to add the fish too early. - OK now we have fried fish flour special blend and the oil in the frying pan to temperature, next we need to apply it to our fish. To do this, I like to hold the fish by hand and then apply a liberal amount of flour on both sides of the fish. Cover the fish evenly in flour on both sides to make sure it’s fully coated before frying, and then add the fish to the hot oil as quickly to stop the flour clumping together or creating large air bubbles from excess water inside them before cooking.
- Add the floured fish to the frying pan slowly to prevent them from absorbing more oil than needed while cooking. Flip the fish over occasionally, so it cooks evenly on both sides. Having a few pairs of tongs or fish slice will help you do this without burning yourself. Keep frying until the fish is cooked through and golden brown.
There are many ways to cooking fish, but for a crispy and juicy texture you cannot beat fried fish. As you can see there are no hard and fast rules when it comes to frying fish, but these tips will help you achieve perfect fried fish every time. You just need flour on hand as well as seasoning like salt and pepper to flavour your coating.
