Another quick and easy protein I love to have on hand is frozen fish fillets. Tilapia, is one such fish that I like to buy cos it’s inexpensive and comes very well packed in individual packets, which makes it easy to thaw. Tilapia is a delicate and lean fish that easily takes on the flavor of the seasonings you use.
In this dish, I marinated the fish fillets in a spicy (almost batter-like) garlic-chili and lime marinate and pan fried it. I would imagine that you could also bake the fish and it’ll taste just the same. I just prefer frying it in a non-stick pan cause it’s quick and easy.
The spicy tilapia fillets go great with a fresh, sweet and tangy mango salsa/salad.
Chili Lime Tilapia
Ingredients:
4 tilapia fillets
4 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
Juice of 1/2 a Lime
1 tsp cayenne powder
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp onion salt
1 egg white
1/2 cup vegetable oil
Method:
– Start by blending the roughly chopped garlic along with the juice of half a lime in a food processor/blender, until it becomes a paste.
– Then add the cayenne, cumin powder, paprika, one egg white and onion salt and blend until it’s all well mixed.
– While the blender is running, pour in the oil in a slow and steady steam, just like you’re making mayonnaise.
– Pour the spicy marinade over the fish fillets and using a brush, make sure to coat both sides of the fillets well. Leave them to marinade for about 15-30 minutes.
– Heat a pan on medium and pan fry the fillets of fish for about 6-7 minutes on each side until tender. There’s no need to add any oil to the pan if you’re using a non-stick, as the marinade itself contains oil.
– Serve with some sweet and tangy mango salsa.(see recipe here)
Lavinia says
amazing recipe
Neolla Lobo says
Nice one!
Jon Parker says
Googled in to this recipe and made it for dinner tonight. Followed recipe exactly except for using olive oil (didn’t have vegetable). Very flavorful, but I’m not sure what the purpose of the egg white is. Can you tell me what it’s for? I did love the recipe and it will probably be my go-to for tilapia.
Michelle Devon (Michy) says
Absolutely nummy! I loved it!
Jon, the egg white is basically to make the aioli marinade (it’s how mayo is made, with egg white–and if you get any yolk in it, the marinade/mayo won’t thicken up well!)
thanks for a wonderful recipe idea!
LA says
I suppose the egg white is to help the marinade stick to the fish? @Michelle, egg yolks are used in mayo.
Al says
I made this tonight and followed recipe exactly. It was delicious, but I had issues and I could use some help for next time…
The marinade was incredibly thick, nothing like your pictures. I had to scoop it out of the blender with a spoon, and it was difficult to spread on the fish.
I cooked in a well oiled non-stick pan, and the fish still stuck to the pan. I probably lost 1/4 of the crust.
Any suggestions? Thank you!