Fish is not meat, but that is not important. It also requires a special approach, although it is prepared much faster and easier. Particular attention is paid to spices. They should emphasize the taste, but not interrupt it. Not all kinds of fish dishes can be refilled. What can and should be added to them?
River fish
River fish has a weak taste and aroma, it is important to strengthen and emphasize it. Types of spices and their number depends on the method of preparation. They practically have no relation to fish Perch, catfish, carp, carp and crucian carp can be cooked under the same seasoning. Moreover, sometimes in the dishes at the same time combine different fish, which is also not prohibited.
Spices for frying fish
Frying is the most popular way of cooking river fish. It is made in a pan, grill, grill. In any case, the product has a pleasant taste. When frying in oil, it is also saturated with fat, which is not very small in river fish. It is with this method of cooking that many spices are not needed. Beautiful and crisp to compensate for the missing taste.
How to fill the fish for frying:
- pepper;
- salt;
- coriander;
- thyme;
- turmeric.
You can rub the pieces with these seasonings, leave to pickle, or immediately send them to the pan. Often the fish before frying is paned in flour, semolina, bread crumbs. In this case, you can add spices to a dry basis.
Spices for cooking fish, soups
When cooking, the taste of river fish is lost. It is for this reason that it is customary for soups and aspic to cook broth from illiquid parts. Use heads, tails, fins in large quantities, then filter and already boil the fish directly.
What to add when cooking fish:
- onions, carrots;
- laurel;
- dill seeds;
- peppercorns;
- celery.
If you do not plan to use broth, you need only tasty fish, for example, for a snack or salad, then when cooking you can add a large amount of spices, and use a little water so that it barely covers the pieces.
Good advice! Boiled fish will be much tastier if it is cooled in broth. And so that the pieces do not fall apart when cutting, you need to cool it well, you can hold a little in the freezer.
Spices for salting fish
River fish can also be salted, but in this case other spices will be required. It is also salted before smoking. Seasoning can be added by boiling the brine or pour pieces of fish, then add liquid. When dry salted spices mixed with salt, sugar, it all depends on the recipe.
What to add when salting:
- umbrellas or dill seeds;
- laurel;
- peppercorns;
- mustard seeds;
- tarragon.
You can additionally chop a bulb of onion to the fish, put the root of celery, parsley or ginger. They just do not spoil the snack.
Good advice! If the fish has an unpleasant smell of mud, then you can soak it with lemon peel or add lemon in the marinade.
Spices for baked fish
When baking fish, as in frying, you do not need to add a large amount of spices, as they settle on a crust. Typically, seasonings are added to mayonnaise, sour cream, butter or sauce, which wipe the product.
How to fill the fish before cooking in the oven:
- salt, pepper;
- marjoram;
- oregano;
- turmeric;
- coriander.
It is undesirable to use more than three kinds of spices at the same time. Adding onions, carrots is welcome. They can be put inside the carcass or under the fish, then it definitely will not stick and will not burn.
Sea fish
Sea fish has a more subtle and light flavor, it does not smell of mud, does not require masking, spices should only emphasize the taste. No coriander, cumin, cardamom. These spices will only spoil the dish. Sometimes enough vegetables (onions, carrots), black pepper, salt.
How to fill the sea fish:
- When frying. Ground pepper mixture, lemon juice, nutmeg. For the finished fish or in the sauce for it, you can add a little oregano, ginger.
- When cooking. Vegetables, roots, peppercorns, laurel, dill seeds, umbrellas.
- Baked sea fish. It can be seasoned with sweet paprika, basil, fennel. Under it you can put a sprig of rosemary, but you should not add it in a hammer form.
- Saltwater Salt Fish. It is better to give preference to the classics: salt, pepper and laurel. If you want to make a highlight, then a sprig of tarragon, rosemary will help.
If you need to cook sea fish tasty, then it is better to use vegetables than spicy and bright spices. They will spoil the product itself, and the broth, drown out a delicate and light aroma.
Than you can not fish the fish
There are seasonings that are better not to add to the fish. Some spoil the look, others taste, others change the smell or give bitterness. They can be found in ready-made spice mixes a la fish, but usually in small quantities and as an additional ingredient.
What you should not add:
- Dill. When boiling and stewing, it spoils the taste of fish, gives an ugly color, burns and burns when frying and cooking in the oven. But you can use fresh herbs when serving dishes. A few branches in the plate does not hurt.
- Chili. It can only be used in Korean-style cold snacks. A bright example is the fish “Heh”. When cooking and stewing hot pepper, it is undesirable to add, it will clog the taste of the broth.
- Sage. You can add it to cold sauces to fish, but in no case to soups and stews. They will have an unpleasant bitterness.
- Rosemary. It is not added to fish soup and fish soups, aspic. This spice gives too bright aroma to broth. But you can use when salting and cooking in the oven whole branches.
Citruses - a win-win option
Professional chefs even have a saying: “If you don’t know how to spice fish, fields with lemon”. And this is actually the case.
Citruses can replace all spices except salt. They perfectly highlight the taste of river and sea fish.
You can pour the finished dish with juice, add slices in the process or use it for decoration.
By the way, instead of citrus itself, you can only use zest. She will give the necessary flavor. You can rub a small amount of sour cream, mayonnaise, salt and grease the carcass before sending it to the oven. Peel and juice of orange, lemon are involved in sauces when serving fish to the table. Slices of lemons and oranges look gorgeous in the aspic, add brightness and originality to the dish.
