NEVER Fry Your Fish in Cornmeal Again – Try This Japanese Trick (Light and Crispy, Never Greasy)

NEVER Fry Your Fish in Cornmeal Again – Try This Japanese Trick (Light and Crispy, Never Greasy) You pour buttermilk over the fillets, drag each one through cornmeal, and drop them in the oil. The crust comes out thick and gritty, the paper towels are soaked right through, and the bottom of every piece has gone soft. If that's how your fried fish always turns out, it isn't you - the coating is the problem. When I was a boy in Sacramento, my father fried perch or frozen cod on Friday nights in a heavy black pot. He used a plain white powder from a paper bag, and his fish came out pale gold, with a crust so thin you could see the fish through it and not a drop of oil left on the plate. I'm George Nakamura. I'm not a chef. This all comes from Japanese home cooks - my father brought it from Matsumoto and cooked it at our stove for 30 years. In this one, his way in 8 steps: number 1, furijio, the light salt and 15-minute rest that pulls out the fishy smell, then patting it dry, number 2, why cornmeal makes greasy, gritty fish and the potato starch (katakuriko) Japanese home cooks use instead, with cornstarch as the backup, number 3, putting the flavor on the fish itself with a soy and ginger tatsuta-age marinade, number 4, the thin coat, tapped off, 3 minutes on a rack, number 5, an ice-cold, lumpy tempura-style batter for thick cod and catfish, number 6, the oil - an inch and a half, 340 to 350 degrees, never more than half full, number 7, frying 2 or 3 pieces at a time and listening for when it's done, and number 8, the thing my father did in the first minute after the fish left the oil that almost nobody does now. Works for whiting, catfish, perch, tilapia and cod. Honest warnings in the video: use about an inch and a half of oil and never fill the pot more than half full. Keep a lid that covers the whole pot right by the stove, and keep water and wet hands away from it. If the oil catches fire, turn off the burner and slide the lid on - never throw water on a grease fire, and if it won't go out, get everyone out and call 911. Fish is done at 145 degrees Fahrenheit in the thickest part. Leftovers go in the fridge within 2 hours and get reheated to 165. Did your family fry fish in cornmeal, in flour, or something else? Tell me which one, and tell me where you grew up. I read every one. #FriedFish #FishFry #CrispyFish #JapaneseCooking #JapaneseTrick #PotatoStarch #FriedCatfish #FriedWhiting #SouthernCooking #FishRecipe #HomeCooking #CookingTips