How to Fry Horse Mackerel: Crispy, Tender, and Not Fishy - Simple Method
On the days spent at home, every meal requires careful preparation, and I realized that the ingredients in the house are quickly dwindling. Today, when I opened the freezer, there was only one package of horse mackerel left. The family loves fish, especially fried horse mackerel. Just out of the fryer, the fish is crispy and tender, paired with buns and rice porridge, a satisfying meal. Previously, when frying fish, I always coated it with a layer of batter to fry. The family said they preferred dry-fried fish, which tastes better, and they felt that it reduced the amount of oil. So I changed my home-style method, and it's very popular.
You can use either dry flour or batter, and it also depends on personal preferences. There are different methods and advantages to both.
Dry-fried horse mackerel: Method: My method is to mix cornstarch and flour in a 1:1 ratio, then dip the marinated horse mackerel in the mixture, then fry in oil. Advantages: The fried horse mackerel has a crispy outer layer and reduces the amount of oil absorbed. It also prevents the outer skin from softening even when it cools down.
Fried horse mackerel with batter Method: Mix cornstarch and low-gluten flour according to a 1:1 ratio with water to make batter, coat the fish with batter, then fry in oil. Advantages and Disadvantages: Coating with batter won't cause the batter to be not sticky, so the oil won't become turbid. However, the fish meat is prone to slipping off during frying, and if you don't grasp it well, it's easy to thicken, absorb oil, and taste greasy. It will also become soft and flabby when it cools down. Therefore, it seems that dry-fried horse mackerel is preferred.
Dry-fried horse mackerel:
First, prepare a whole horse mackerel. At this time, the horse mackerel is not cleaned, and it has a strong fishy smell, so it needs to be pre-processed. Remove the head and tail of the horse mackerel, and then tear off its fins,
Here's a small trick: tear from the fish tail to the head, it's easy to tear off.Prepare a sharp knife, cut open the belly of the horse mackerel, remove the internal organs, and remove the blood-stained line close to the bones. When cleaning the horse mackerel, rinse with warm water, it must be cleaned, because the blood-stained line will cause the horse mackerel to have a very strong fishy smell. After cleaning the horse mackerel, cut it into segments if the horse mackerel is thick, cut several knives on the horse mackerel, then the horse mackerel will be more flavorful when marinating, then put the horse mackerel into a large basin, add, and mix evenly. Marinate the horse mackerel for half an hour.
Mix cornstarch and flour in a 1:1 ratio, then dip the marinated horse mackerel in the mixture, start the pot and heat the oil, because we need to fry spices, so the oil should be more, the extra spices can be saved, and it can be used to make cold dishes or stir-fries later. When the oil is hot, add ginger slices, green onions, and star anise until they are golden brown, then remove the spices from the pot.
When the oil temperature rises to 5-6 degrees, put the marinated horse mackerel segments one by one into the pot. At this time, shake the pot to distribute the hot oil evenly, to prevent the horse mackerel from sticking to the pot. When the fish skin is set, gently push the horse mackerel with a spatula to ensure uniform heating. About 3-5 minutes, the horse mackerel will turn golden yellow. At this time, drain the horse mackerel and remove it from the pot.
Raise the oil temperature again to 6-7 degrees, then put the fried horse mackerel into the pot for a second fry, it only needs to fry for 12 seconds, after frying, drain the oil, this step cannot be missed. After the second frying, the fish spines will become more fragrant and crispy, and it will be more delicious.
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