How to Cook Fish

Fish is good for health because fish fats are supposed to prevent heart disease especially fatty fishes such as tuna, mackerel and salmon. Fish can even prevent disease like stroke and Alzheimer’s disease. Purchasing, storage and cooking of fish is easy but require a little knowledge.

Choosing the fish for cooking is more important. Choose a fish that smells good. Do not buy stinking fish. Store the fish in the refrigerator only for a day or two. If you want to store fish longer than that, then wrap it in the freezer paper and freeze it. You can thaw the fish in the refrigerator or in microwave or under cold running water. Only a brief marinating is necessary because when you marinate it for more than 30 minutes, the acidic nature of the ingredients denature the delicate proteins in the fish.

Do not add any kind of dairy products such as butter, cream and butter for cooking fish as these contain saturated fats. Dairy products do not give the natural taste to the fish. You can use citrus to add to the flavors. You can use canola or olive oil to cook fish. Fish can be cooked by various means such as steaming, grilling, poaching, frying, microwave, barbecue or baking.

There is a slight difference between overcooked fish and perfectly cooked fish. You have to remember the principle of residual heating while cooking fish. A hot pan will retain heat even if it is removed from the fire. You can continue cooking for some more time in that hot pan. To get best results, cook the fish till it is almost done and remove it from the heat source. Keep it in the hot pan for a few more minutes in order to get a perfect cooking. Fish become opaque when cooked. Insert a skewer in to the fleshy part of the fish and observe whether it came out clean. If the skewer is clean, then you can assume that the fish is perfectly cooked.