I’m sure you’ve been to a restaurant and enjoyed a perfectly sautéed fillet of salmon or a well-baked slice of pomfret and wondered whether it would ever be possible for you to cook sea food as well as they do, right?
Well, guess what, you can too! Let me let you in on some of the best ways to cook sea food!
Ways to Cook Fish Perfectly
1. Frying/Sautéing
Well, this method is one of the most common and easiest methods of cooking sea food. Be it fish, shrimp or even scallops, sautéing them with some oil or butter on a pan, can make them tender on the inside and crisp on the outside.
You can pre-season or marinate the raw and cleaned sea food for a couple of hours before you sauté it for the best flavour. Do not overcook, as sea food cooks very quick.
2. Baking
Baking fish or any other sea food is a common practice and is also very easy. Spray a baking tray with some oil or butter and place your marinated sea food (in a single layer). Let it bake in the oven at 400 F degrees for around 10 minutes. Keep it uncovered and you can remove the fish earlier, if done.
3. Grilling
Thicker cuts of fish, as compared to leaner types of fish, cook better using the grilling method. So you can place the marinated fish, shrimp or any other sea food on a clean, well-oiled (or buttered) grilling rack (with a closely spaced grill grate), which has been pre-heated (closed, preferably) for around 10 minutes.
Let the fish be placed in a single layer and the grill grate should be around 4 to 6 inches away from the heat. Cook evenly on both sides until the flesh is soft.
4. En Papillote
This method isn’t used as often as the other method of cooking sea food, but is definitely another good way to sea food. You can marinate or season your raw and cleaned sea food and then place it in parchment paper or foil. Then, you can use the method of baking or grilling to cook it. Make sure that the paper or foil is tight closed, so that the steam remains within.
5. Steaming
Steaming fish is quite easy. You will have to place the marinated/seasoned sea food over your steamer and then keep it covered. Thereafter, let it steam until the sea food is well-cooked and the flesh is soft.
6. Poaching
Poaching is a way to make fish tender and this method can be used for any type of sea food. You can cook/poach your sea food in a cooking dish filled with any liquid like milk, wine, water, fish broth or vegetable broth.
You will have to place all the sea food and then fill in the liquid of your choice until it’s all covered. Then, cover with a lid and cook for 10 to 12 minutes. You can turn off the heat earlier if the flesh has already become soft.
7. Broiling
Broiling is similar to baking the sea food and you can follow the same method you would, when you bake any sea food (refer to point 2). But the only difference here is to only use top heat (and not top and bottom heat), to cook the flesh. This will ensure that the sea food brows well at the top, giving you a crisp layer.
8. Air Frying
If you have an air fryer at home, then air frying is a good way to cook your sea food. Just pre-heat your air fryer and place the seasoned and marinated sea food in a single layer.
Then let it air fry for 10 to 15 minutes depending on the type of sea food (lean or thick) or you can also check in between to see if the flesh is soft and remove it earlier too.