Pan-Fried Tilapia with Sautéed Red Onions

While I do enjoy fish, I do not cook them often. No specific reason why, maybe I just love beef so much? But when I do, I always try to do something different with the seasoning. Sometimes successfully, sometimes not. Let's just say this is definitely one of those recipes I am keeping for next time.

The inspiration for this came from two things: Panko and mustard. 

First, some time ago I saw on some cooking show that mustard worked really well in bringing out other flavors in fish. I never really tried it before so I figured I'd give it a shot. Second, I bought Panko by accident when looking for bread crumbs and needed to use it in something.

Simple as that, just like the recipe.

Process


First off, get yourself some nice fresh fish. I suggest tilapia, which coincidently is what I am using in this recipe. This recipe makes four fillets. Once the fish are ready you need to make the breading for the frying. First take all the dry components (everything but the mustard) and mix them together. Panko bread crumbs are rather large out of the container so you have two options. You can either leave them "as is" or put them in a food processor. Leaving the panko "as is" will create a breading with a big crunch but not fully cover the entire fish. Chopping it up will create a much more fine breading on the fish. It is your call. I don't have a food processor so the choice was easy for me.

After the seasoning is combined, you add in the mustard. It creates an interesting paste that makes you wonder if this will actually be good...

Coat the fish in the breading and plop into the skillet that has the already heated oil.

***Hot Oil Safety Warning***

If you did not already know, oil doesn't boil like water as oil's boiling point is much greater than that of water. I wont go into the specifics why, but the reality is oil that is cold will look very similar to hot oil. If you make this mistake, you will get burned.

A nifty trick (again, if you didn't know) is to take the handle end of a wooden spoon and stick in the oil and look for some crackling bubbles. Not only does this tell you if the oil is hot, but based on the bubbling you can tell if the oil is ready to use.

If you actually care about the science behind it, just ask but be warned because I do tend to go on and on and on and on...

***End of Hot Oil Safety Warning***

Cook each side of the fish for three to four minutes and you're done.

The sautéed red onions are easy. Cut some onions to get some nice circular strands. Heat up some olive oil, splash some red wine of choice (I used a fantastic Ost-Intrigen grape from Forlorn Hope) and let it reduce about half-way. Always spend the extra on decent wine when used in cooking. It makes a difference. The best thing about this was that I has a glass or two while making this and only used a splash for the reduction. 

Let the onions caramelize and pour them generously onto the just finished fish. Pour another glass of wine and enjoy.

Pan-Fried Tilapia with Sautéed Red Onions
  
Ingredients

4 fillets tilapia
3 T olive oil
1 cup panko bread crumbs
1/2 tsp Kosher salt
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/3 cup spicy mustard
pinch of thyme
pinch of pepper
1 red onion 
1 T olive oil
splash of red wine (I used Forlorn Hope - Ost-Intrigen)

Directions

1. Prep fish fillets. Heat olive oil in a skillet. While the oil is heating up, you can begin to prep the breading. 
2. Mix the panko bread crumbs, salt, paprika, onion powder, thyme and pepper. After the seasoning is well-mixed with the bread crumbs, add in the mustard.
3. Cover the fish in the breading and drop into the heated oil. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes on each side.
4. In a separate skillet, heat the olive oil and toss in the onions. Throw a splash of wine in there and caramelize those onions. Toss them next to the fish on a plate and enjoy!