Hake fillet in a frying pan

How to fry a hake fillet in a frying pan? First, prepare all the necessary products. Since the hake fillet is sold mainly frozen, defrost it in advance. For quick defrosting, you can use a microwave oven. For a longer one - the bottom shelf of the refrigerator. Defrost frozen fish overnight in the refrigerator or keep it at room temperature on the kitchen table. Put the fillet in a deep dish, because quite a lot of water will drain from it.

Wash the prepared hake fillet with additional water and dry it with paper towels. Then cut into portions with a sharp knife. You can cut along or across the fibers - as you like. Keep in mind that when frying, the meat can easily tear, because it is very tender.

Season each sliced fillet with salt on both sides, sprinkle with lemon juice, sprinkle with dried basil. Transfer the fillets to a bowl and leave to marinate for 10-15 minutes. You can, if you want, season the fish with other spices and seasonings to your liking.

Put a frying pan on the stove, make medium heat and melt butter or pour vegetable oil. When the oil warms up, start frying the fish.

Fry the hake fillets on both sides until browned. With such a thickness of fish as mine, it will take about 2 minutes on each side. The cooking time is influenced by the thickness of the pan, the oil temperature, the characteristics of the plate and the type of slicing fish. That is, it may take you more or less minutes than I do.

Be very careful when turning the fish to the other side - use a wide spatula for this. The meat is very delicate, its fibers are easily torn.

When the hake is ready, you can transfer it to plates and serve immediately while it is hot. I served it in a frying pan so that the fish did not have time to cool down. To enhance the taste, I recommend sprinkling the fillet with fresh chopped herbs. It goes well with any sweet and sour and spicy sauces like tkemali.
You can sprinkle fried fish with lemon juice.

For garnish, you can take classic mashed potatoes. But almost any vegetable side dish, boiled cereals, pasta will fit here - choose what you like.

Bon appetit to all!