My partner and I recently bought some fish and had a hard time eating it. We decided to start taking notes on fish breeds so that we don’t make the same mistake twice. I try to keep an open mind “there is no bad fish”, but some fish fit our style of cooking and eating more than others so here we go.
In general, we cook fish by buying whole fish that have been scaled and gutted with everything still in tact. At home, we smother in ginger and scallions, then splash with shao xing wine and soy sauce. I usually base it off of the Woks of Life recipe but with a lot of creative freedom.
I’m also open to eating steaks and fillets grilled or fried. I tend not to deep-fry any of my food because I’m in an apartment but I do think it’s a good way to eat small-boned fish.
Carp – Nah, maybe for deep frying
Small with many thin sharp bones. Likely becomes crispy when fried
Smells pretty fishy, we steamed it with lots of ginger and wine and it was tasty but too many bones.
Tilapia – Yeah
Good for meaty white fish, doesn’t really have much flavor. I like to pan fry it with some sauce. It doesn’t really marinade or absorb any flavor. Usually very affordable and friendly tasting.
Trout – It’s Okay
We used frozen trout and made the skin crispy with cornstarch and flavored with the chile lime from Trader Joe’s but otherwise it’s a basic freshwater white fish with no flavor.
Red Snapper – Yeah!
Specifically in the Caribbean or South East Asian style where you shallow/deep fry it and serve it with some sauce. SEA likes fish sauce.
Cod — Nah
It’s a white fish that does not absorb flavors well. I cooked it in Hawaii from frozen with Miso marinade. The marinade burns and the fish is whatever.
Black Cod — Yeah
It’s like 20% fat, very good air fried with miso glaze (nobu style) until internal temp hits 130F. Our fav from the farmers market.
Halibut — Eh
It’s like 1% fat, pan fried to make skin crispy but it was okay, kind of chewy skin. The flesh was air fried until 125F and was quite lean. You need an oily sauce, not the miso sauce.
Guy from farmers market said he likes the Cantonese ginger scallion oil sauce. Makes sense to add more oil, like miso mayo or garlic butter could work too.
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