How to fry frozen Tilapia?
In this brief article, we will answer the question, “How to fry frozen Tilapia?” methods and tips to fry Tilapia.
How to fry frozen Tilapia?
To fry frozen wedges thaw the fish in the fridge or warm water followed by heating the vegetable oil in the pan. When the oil in the pan turns hot, add the fish fillets to the pan and fry for a few minutes till the fish has a crispier texture.
What exactly is Tilapia?
Tilapia is a freshwater fish that mostly feeds on plants. It is generally grown through farming or aquaculture. It is most commonly consumed in the United States.
How to cook frozen fish fillets?
You can cook the fillets by either pan-frying them or using an air fryer to fry them.
Pan-frying
Ingredients
- 3-4 frozen tilapia loins
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- Lemon wedges (optional)
Method
- Remove frozen tilapia off the freezer and rinse it under hot water. Dry the fillets using a dry paper towel.
- Add salt thoroughly to the fillets.
- In a pan, heat vegetable oil. Let the temperature of the oil increase a bit as this would prevent the fish fillets from sticking to the pan.
- Cook the fish for 2-3 minutes. The fish would have a golden-brown color after it is cooked. Cook the fish till the temperature reaches 145℉. This would help in developing crunchiness on the fish. Serve the fish with lemon wedges.
Air frying
Ingredients
- 4 tilapia fillets.
- Salt to taste
- Garlic powder to taste
- Cajun seasoning (a pinch)
- Black pepper to taste
Method
- Preheat the air fryer to 390℉. You can also spray the air fryer with cooking spray as this will prevent the fillets from getting stuck to the air fryer.
- Avoid stacking the fillets one above the other. Instead, spread them out on the air fryer.
- Season the tilapia with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and Cajun seasoning.
- Air fry the fillets for 5-8 minutes. Using a fork, check whether the tilapia has been cooked well.
- Flip the fish fillet and let the other side cook as well. Season the other side of the fish too. Serve.
What are the instructions that need to be kept in mind while frying Tilapia?
- If you are planning to pan-fry Tilapia, use a heavy pan.
- Fry Tilapia in low or medium heat as the exterior can get burnt pretty quickly while the insides of the fish would remain uncooked.
- Check the temperature of the fish using a baking or candy thermometer to ensure whether the fish is cooked. The temperature of the fish should be between 140 to 145℉. You can also check the doneness of the fish using a fork.
While poking with a fork, if the fish breaks apart easily, it means that the fish is ready to be consumed.
- If you prefer to buy frozen fish from the store, ensure that the frozen fish is properly sealed and whether there is no potential entry for air or moisture to the fish.
- If the pack of frozen fish smells bad or has a smell of ammonia, avoid buying it.
- The fish that you are about to cook should have a pinkish-white color and should not have dark patches or firm patches.
- If you are in a hurry to fry Tilapia, go for deep-frying instead of pan-frying as deep frying takes lesser time to cook Tilapia than pan-frying. Pan-frying though is a healthier option as it incorporates lesser oil.
- Coat the fish in egg or batter before it is being frozen or after thawing the fish. If the batter is coated to fish while it is frozen, the batter would not hold onto the fish in the frozen state.
- If the fish is not battered properly, it would break apart instantly especially when it is deep-fried.
- Left-over pieces of Tilapia can be wrapped in a freezer bag and stored in the freezer for six months.
- Avoid cooking Tilapia straight from the freezer especially if the fish was cleaned before storing it in the freezer. The fish should be thawed and cleaned properly before frying.
Also remember that if the fish is thawed, the cooking time gets reduced compared to fish that is not thawed. Thawed fish also cooks more evenly.
- Avoid microwaving the fish to quickly thaw the fish as the fish would not be thawed evenly.
- Avoid thawing the fish at room temperature as bacterial growth can be rapid in the fish if it is exposed to room temperature for long.
Conclusion
In this brief article, we have answered the question, “How to fry frozen Tilapia? methods and tips to fry Tilapia.
