In these and many other countries, deep-fried fish skin is eaten with relish. But even the head chef of the Four Seasons Hotel in Hong Kong, a hotel with a total of 7 Michelin Guide stars under its roof, wasn’t entirely sure at first and served the dish to his colleagues for testing. They and his guests were delighted and the fish skin became a popular item on the menu, surviving every revision.

Head chef Chan Yan Tal at the 3-star restaurant ‘Lung King Heen’ © Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong

In Europe, too, a piece of fried fish skin is occasionally served as a chip on a dish to give it a crunchy component.

Japan: From breakfast to dinner

InJapan, a small piece of fried fish with crispy fish skin is an important part of the Japanese breakfast. However, this delicacy can also be found on the lunch menu or in the evening menu.

Since our trip to Japan, we prefer to buy fish with fish skin and enjoy this form of fish preparation. It is very easy to prepare and tastes great.

The fish gets so much flavor from the roasted aromas of the skin that a bowl of rice is all that is needed. At the same time, this method of preparing fish makes it very easy to recognize when the rest of the fish is still slightly glassy and therefore fully cooked.

The day before

The success of a crispy fried fish skin lies in the preparation. The day before, “water” the skin of the fish with a glass of sake. The alcohol in the sake disinfects and adds umami at the same time.

Sprinkle plenty of salt on the skin. Place the fish on kitchen paper and store on a plate in the fridge for a day.

The salt on the skin causes the skin to dry out and quickly become crispy later in the pan or on the grill.

At the same time, the salt dehydrates the fish. The liquid is collected by the kitchen towel and can be easily disposed of.

Fish is a rare delicacy with important omega-3 fatty acids. That’s why Maldon, the king’s salt, is our salt of choice for this preparation.

Which fish?

It can be prepared with any fresh fish, whether salmon, zander, cod or char.

If you want to follow the Japanese way of cooking, you can use a Japanese cast iron pan. All cast iron pans are characterized by their high heat conductivity and ability to store heat very well.

Japanese models, such as the pans from our favorite retailer Native in London, also have a pattern on the base of the pan that makes it particularly easy to fry the fish skin and remove the fish from the base of the pan.

The investment is worthwhile in any case. Cast iron pans age extremely well, get better and better and can even be passed on to the next generation of cooks.

Hot, hot, hot

You can also fry the fish in a conventional pan or on any grill. The important thing is the high temperature.

See Also

HOT? WE RECOMMEND RICE

The easiest way to cook the fish is to brush the fish skin with ghee before frying and then place it in the pan or on the grill. On the skin first, of course.

Ghee, the clarified butter used in Ayurvedic cuisine, but of course also widely used in Asia, forms a small layer on the fish skin and is ideal for high frying temperatures.

You can also coat the pan or grill with an oil that can withstand high temperatures.

Depending on the thickness of the fish slices, the fish will need about 4-5 minutes. You can literally see how the rest of the fish slowly changes from glassy to less glassy. If it is a very thick slice of fish, you can turn it briefly and fry it for a minute on the flesh side. If it is a rather thin slice, then the cooking process on the skin side is usually sufficient.

No way back

Once you know the taste of a fish with crispy fried skin, there is almost no going back. With a few exceptions, you only want to enjoy fish fried on the skin

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Food Photography © GloriousMe