Tilapia fried in breadcrumbs. How to cook tilapia fillet in a frying pan? Preparing breadcrumbs

If you want to impress your family and friends with your culinary skills, then be sure to cook tilapia for them. No one can resist the juicy fillet, fried until crispy, and its amazing aroma. Making a dish from this fish is quite easy; it is prepared in a matter of minutes using a minimum amount of ingredients. The meat is very tender, has almost no bones and literally melts in your mouth.

Composition and calorie content of the product

Tilapia lives in freshwater bodies and is often called “river chicken.” In Russian stores you can find both fresh fish and frozen fillets. Meat is rich in calcium, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium and B vitamins. But the protein content is especially high: 26 grams per 100 grams of product, which corresponds to almost half the daily requirement required by the adult body.

The calorie content of fried tilapia is 128 kcal, which is not high. For example, the energy value of cooked trout is 210 kcal, and herring - 183 kcal. In addition, you can cook fish without flour, then the calorie content in the dish will be even lower. Due to the small amount of fat and relatively low calorie content, this type of fish can be safely classified as a dietary product.

Preparation

Frying tasty tilapia is very simple, and every housewife has the necessary products in the kitchen.

So, you will need the following ingredients:

• tilapia (fillet or whole fish) – 3 large pieces;
• lemon or lime – 1 piece;
• flour – 60 grams;
• breadcrumbs – 60 grams;
• vegetable oil – half a glass;
• egg - 2 pieces;
• salt and spices - to taste;
• garlic – 3 cloves.

Also prepare the following equipment: a whisk, a spatula, a cutting board, paper towels, two deep bowls and a large non-stick frying pan.

How to marinate fillet correctly?

To make the dish as appetizing as possible, you need to properly prepare its main ingredient. If you purchased fresh fish, fillet it: remove the head and clean the meat from the bones. If desired, cut the tilapia into portions, although many people prefer to cook it in whole pieces. Be sure to remove excess moisture by patting the fish with a paper towel, otherwise the dish will turn out too watery.

Now let's add a special taste to our tilapia. Rub it well with salt, sprinkle with black pepper and pour plenty of lemon juice. For this, one part of the citrus is enough, the second part will be useful for decorating the finished dish. Garlic will add a special piquancy - crush three medium cloves directly onto the fish and leave everything to marinate for 20 minutes.

Together with pepper (or instead of it), you can use other spices, of which there is now a large selection in stores. In general, seasonings containing coriander, basil, cumin, garlic and fennel work well. By successfully combining them, you can prepare a delicious dish with an extraordinary aroma.

Fry the fish until golden brown

While the fish is marinating, prepare the remaining necessary ingredients. Beat the eggs with a whisk in a deep bowl until foam appears, and in another bowl mix flour and crackers in equal proportions. Thanks to the breading, the fish will retain its shape when fried and acquire a beautiful golden crust. Pour oil into a thick-bottomed frying pan and place over high heat to heat.

Dip the tilapia first in the egg, then in the breading. We do this with all the fish and let the pieces lie in a bowl with flour and breadcrumbs for a couple of minutes. By this time, the oil in the frying pan will have warmed up, which means you can begin the main process. Carefully place the tilapia into the hot oil and fry until golden brown, which usually takes 4 minutes per side. The fish cooks quickly - the total time is no more than 10 minutes. A beautiful crust and an appetizing smell are signs that the frying pan can be removed from the heat.

Without flour and eggs

There is another way to fry tilapia. We will cook without breading, but this will make the fish no less tasty. In this recipe we will do without flour, breadcrumbs and eggs, but we will need two carrots and an onion.

First salt the fillet and marinate it in lemon juice and spices. While the fish is soaking, peel the carrots and grate them on a coarse grater, and cut the onion into half rings. Then sauté the vegetables in a separate frying pan. You can add tomato paste, a clove of garlic or Provencal herbs to the onion-carrot mixture for flavor.

Heat the sunflower oil and place the tilapia pieces into it. Fry the fish on one side for 5 minutes, turn it over and add the sautéed vegetables. Cover the frying pan with a lid, reduce the heat and leave for another 5 minutes to simmer. The total cooking time in this case will be 12–15 minutes, which depends on the individual characteristics of the stove.

As you can see, cooking fish is easy, and if you are missing some ingredient, you don’t have to run to the store. Read the important recommendations, perhaps you will find another solution there:

• instead of wheat flour, you can use corn flour, and instead of breadcrumbs, a piece of bread crushed in a blender;
• The whisk can easily be replaced with a fork, but in this case the whipping process will take a little longer;
• if you don't feel like filleting, just cut the fish into small pieces;
• You can cook without eggs - before frying, roll the fillet in breading;

If you don’t like a crispy crust, then do the following: after the fish is cooked, pour a teaspoon of water into the frying pan, turn off the heat, close the lid and let the dish stand for about 10 minutes

• lemon neutralizes the specific fishy smell; if this aroma does not bother you, then it is not necessary to use citrus for pickling;
• fish can be fried not only in sunflower oil, but also in olive, corn and even butter;
• It’s convenient to bread fillet pieces in a plastic bag: place flour, crackers and fish there, close the bag and shake.

It's hard to mess up a tilapia dish, so you can experiment. For example, before frying, roll the pieces in ground almonds or sprinkle the fish with cheese at the end of cooking.

Serving tilapia correctly

Fried tilapia goes best with the following side dishes:

• boiled potatoes;
• fluffy long grain rice;
• salad of fresh or pickled vegetables;
• cooked vegetables, such as a mixture of broccoli and cauliflower.

Potatoes can be served in the form of mashed potatoes, but it should not be dry, it is better to add more milk. Rice is considered one of the most compatible foods with fish; it can be prepared with carrots and red pepper. But what fish does not go well with is pasta and buckwheat. This proximity on the plate will not allow the taste of the tilapia to fully develop.

The fillet can also be served as an independent dish. Place the delicious golden piece on a plate and garnish it with lemon slices and sprigs of herbs. Don't forget the sauce! Classic tomato, as well as egg, garlic and mustard sauces go well with dishes made from this fish.

To learn how to cook tilapia in batter, watch the following video.

Tilapia fish has been known for its high taste since ancient times (it was eaten as food in ancient Egypt). To be very precise, what is now sold in stores under the name tilapia fillet is the fillet of a whole fairly large family of fish, mainly found in Africa and the Middle East, and recently it has been bred all over the world. Tilapia is mentioned in the Gospel when Jesus fed five thousand hungry people with five loaves of bread and two fish.

Tilapia is highly valued for its tender white meat, rich in proteins and low in fat; in addition, the fillet of this fish is completely boneless, so you can safely eat it in large pieces and not be afraid of pricking yourself (this is especially true for children).

Preparing breadcrumbs

You can buy breadcrumbs for breading in the store (they are often found on sale and are not expensive), or you can prepare them yourself. You don’t need anything special to prepare and it will only take a couple of minutes. First of all, you need dry white bread; it needs to be ground quite finely, but not completely into powder. For this, an ordinary grater is best suited, but you can also use a mortar and pestle, or for larger volumes, a meat grinder. To coat a kilogram of fish, 20-30 grams of breadcrumbs are enough, the amount in the example in the photo is excessive and most of it had to be thrown away. The breadcrumbs remaining after deboning should be thrown away - after contact with raw fish, it is not safe to collect and store until next time.

Recipe for cooking tilapia fillet in a frying pan in breadcrumbs

In Russian stores, telapia fillet is always frozen, even when it is sold not frozen, this does not mean that it is fresh, but that it has already melted in the store. Before cooking, defrost the fillet by leaving it at room temperature for a couple of hours or using a microwave. Be sure to drain the water - excess water will interfere with normal breading.

Thawed tilapia fillets must first be salted, then dipped in breadcrumbs on both sides and immediately placed in a frying pan with sunflower or olive oil. The pan can be either preheated or cold; thanks to the breading and oil, the tilapia practically does not burn. It is advisable to lay the pieces so that they do not touch each other; this will make turning over easier. Fry on one side for about 10 minutes over medium heat, then carefully (partially fried fillet is very fragile) turn over using a spatula. The second side should also be fried for 10 minutes. There is no need to cover with a lid since the tilapia fillet is not thick and is fried perfectly.

The best side dish for tilapia fillet would be rice or mashed potatoes.

The resulting dish according to this recipe has a very interesting feature (not typical of most dishes): after the fish is cooked and there is excess left, it can be put in the refrigerator and reheated later, and the heated tilapia is not inferior in taste, and to some extent even superior freshly fried!

First of all, let's prepare the breading. To do this, peel the onions and potatoes and prepare two chicken eggs.

Finely chop the onion and fry in olive or vegetable oil in a preheated frying pan.

Grate raw potatoes on a fine grater.

The potatoes must be properly squeezed and placed in a deep dish. Add: 2 chicken eggs, fried onions, 3 tablespoons flour, salt, pepper and other seasonings as desired.

Mix the breading base thoroughly and start cooking the fish.

Wash the tilapia fillet under running cool water, season with salt and pepper.

We will fry tilapia as follows. First, heat a frying pan with vegetable or olive oil. Spread an even layer of potato breading onto a piece of fillet and place it in the heated oil, layer down, and spread a second layer of breading on top. We will do the same with each piece. We will fry on the first side with the lid open for about 10 minutes over medium heat.

Then turn each piece over, cover the pan with a lid and cook for another 10 minutes over low heat.

Tilapia fillet prepared in this way turns out to be quite filling, so I recommend preparing some as a side dish. .

Interesting recipe tilapia breaded with parmesan. A dish that previously could only be tasted in expensive Parisian restaurants is now available to everyone.

Ingredients

• tilapia 2 fillets
• parmesan cheese 40 g
• paprika 1 tbsp. l
• basil 10-12 g
• olive oil 1 tbsp. l
• salt 1/2 tsp

Instead of tilapia, you can use any white fish. If you don’t like breading, you can cook it; there is no breading in this recipe.

Parmesan can be replaced with any other hard cheese. Cheese that is not hard will simply melt before the fish is ready and will not hold its shape at all.

Preparation

Prepare the ingredients. Instead of basil there can be parsley, cilantro, dill, even wild garlic, anything in any combination.

Finely grate Parmesan. To make the cheese into fine crumbs, you should use the side of the grater that everyone has always thought about: “What is this side even needed for?”

Wash, dry and finely chop the basil.

Next, in a wide plate with sides, mix Parmesan, basil and paprika with salt.

Using a silicone brush, brush the fillet with olive oil and roll it in breading, pressing the fish well each time. Place the finished fillets on a baking sheet lined with parchment.

Place the baking sheet closer to the top side of the oven and bake in the oven for 13 minutes at 180 degrees. The finished fish needs to rest a little so that the Parmesan crust hardens well. Then transfer to a plate and serve tilapia breaded with parmesan on the table. Bon appetit!