Posts Tagged ‘fish dish’

Recipe: Asian Tilapia

Wednesday, October 7th, 2009
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Tilapia fillets ready for the microwave.

When you’re craving a delicious Asian-inspired dish, tilapia is your friend. The mild flavor of tilapia takes on garlic, ginger, and sesame in this super simple and fast recipe. It’s also healthy and packed with flavor. This tilapia recipe has it all. I like to pair it with rice (also made in the microwave). If you’re feeling engertic and inspired, stir-fry some fresh veggies, but in a pinch frozen green beans make a nice side.

Ingredients:

  • 4-6 tilapia fillets
  • 1 teaspoon dried ginger
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
  • 1 tablespoon seasame oil
  • 3 tablespoons soy sauce

*If there’s an ingredient you really love - add more! 

Directions:

  • Pat the tilapia fillets dry and arrange them in a microwave safe baking dish.
  • Sprinkle with all other ingredients and cover with a paper towel.
  • Microwave for five minutes and check for doneness. If the fish requires more cooking, hit it one minute at a time until it flakes easily with a fork.

It’s that easy. Bake some frozen eggrolls to accompany your Asian gourmet creation and your family will think you planned this meal for weeks!

More Exciting Tilapia Recipes to Try:

Indian Tilapia - Bright color and bursting with flavor.

Tilapia Piccata - Parsley, lemon, and capers come together in one pan.

Tilapia Tacos - Cabbage, lime, and Southwest seasonings. Yum!

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Top 5 Ways to Make a Healthy Dinner in 20 Minutes

Tuesday, July 7th, 2009

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Need dinner on the table quick? Grab a few tilapia fillets and you’re on your way. What’s that you say? They’re still in the freezer? No worries. Thaw them lickity split in cool water. It’ll only add five or ten minutes to your total meal prep time. This is why we LOVE tilapia.

#1 - Bake It

Season your fish while the oven preheats and by the time it’s hot, you’re ready to slide your meal into the oven. Tilapia only takes about ten minutes to bake at 350 degrees. If you’re in a real time crunch, stick it under the broiler for about two minutes, then flip and hit the other side for another two or three minutes. (Just don’t get distracted or you’ll be eating tilapia jerky for dinner.)

Cheesy Broiled Tilapia is a great recipe for the oven.

#2 - Grill It

Grilling not only gets dinner on the table in record time, it also keeps the kitchen clean. You can go all out with custom spice rubs and sauces, or you can shortcut it with a little premixed cajun seasoning or some store bought salsa. Check out the summer grilling tips we rounded up last month for some great ideas.

#3 - Fry It

Frying gets a bad name, but as long as you pour the oil in moderation, there’s really nothing too unhealthy about a good old fashioned fish fry. Try Classic Cornmeal Crusted Tilapiaon your next Fryday Fishday!

#4 - Saute It

If I had to pick a favorite way to prepare my tilapia, this might be it. Flavor-wise, I think sauteing gives you the biggest bang for your calories. And tilapia cooks so quickly that the time it takes to get the ingredients together still doesn’t put these recipes over the twenty minute mark. Try Tilapia Piccata and let me know if you agree.

#5 - Microwave It

Oh wait, I take it back - microwaving is my favorite way to prepare tilapia - at least when I’m in a hurry. This is my go-to lunch method. Just me, my micro, and a few choice ingredients. My super easy lunch recipe: one tilapia fillet, top with a little soy sauce, and some powdered ginger and garlic salt. A minute in the microwave yields a tasty, high protein lunch.

There you have it - 5 ways to get a healthy dinner (or lunch!) on the table in twenty minutes (or less!).

Image Credit: digicla, Flickr

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Recipe: Tilapia Piccata

Sunday, June 7th, 2009

Here’s a simple tilapia dish that sounds fancy and packs a wallop of taste. Added bonus: little kids like to say ‘piccata’! If yours don’t care for anything in a hue of green, you can easily adapt the recipe, or pull the kids portions out before adding the final delicious touches!

tilapia_piccata_adactioflickr

Ingredients:

  • 8 ounces of your favorite uncooked pasta (orzo is nice if you can get it, or angel hair spaghetti)
  • 3/4 cup grape tomatoes, halved
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
  • 3 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, divided
  • 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 4 tilapia fillets (about 6 oz each)
  • 3 tablespoons butter, divided
  • 1/4 cup white wine*
  • 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (if you can - my “fresh” almost always comes in a bottle)
  • 1 tablespoon drained capers (they’re usually next to the olives at the store)

Directions

  1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain.
  2. Stir in tomatoes, 1/4 tsp salt, parsley, and 1/8 tsp pepper. Set aside and keep warm.
    - If you’re adapting for the kids, leave the parsley out here. We’ll add it later.
  3. Combine remaining 1/4 tsp salt, remaining 1/8 tsp pepper and flour in a large shallow bowl. Dredge fish in flour mixture.
  4. Melt 1 tbsp butter in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat.
  5. Add fish to pan and cook 1 1/2 minutes on each side or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork.
  6. Remove fish from pan and keep warm. (An empty microwave works well.)
  7. Add wine, juice and capers to pan, cook 30 seconds. Remove from heat. Add remaining 2 tbsp butter to pan, stir until butter melts.
    - If you’re adapting for picky eaters, leave out the capers. Then add them, along with the parsley, as a final garnish.
  8. Serve fish with sauce and pasta.

* Yes, you can leave out the wine, but don’t! Remember, the alcohol burns off in the cooking. In other words, no toddlers will end up tipsy after eating this meal! However, if you don’t want the wine, substitute with chicken broth.

This is one of those recipes I love - easy enough for every day, but pretty enough for guests. Enjoy!

Image Credit: adactio, Flickr

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Recipe: Indian Tilapia

Tuesday, April 14th, 2009
Mix up the spices in advance to simplify this easy recipe.

Mix up the spices in advance to simplify this easy recipe.

I adapted this fish recipe from one I found a few years ago for spiced shrimp. I love the flavor of Indian spices, and surprisingly - the kids enjoy it too. The turmeric gives this fish dish a wonderful yellow color. It’s great served over rice or couscous.
 

Ingredients:

  • 2 teaspoons ground coriander*
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin*
  • 1/2 teaspoon turmeric*
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
  • 3 scallions (green onions), sliced
  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons lemon juice (fresh or bottled)
  • 6 tilapia fillets
  1. Mix the first four ingredients and half the sliced onions in a large bowl.
  2. Add the fish and coat well with the spice mixture.
  3. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.  
  4. In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat.
  5. Add the fish and cook about 2 minutes on each side, or until almost done (almost flaky with a fork).
  6. Add the lemon juice and cook 1-2 minutes more until fish flakes easily with a fork.
  7. Serve immediately. Do not over cook.

*I starred the spices because this recipe comes together pretty quickly, but it’s even faster if you have the spice mix already made up. If so, you can substitute the first three ingredients with 3 1/2 teaspoons of your Indian Spice Blend.

To make the Indian Spice Blend, combine:

- 2 tablespoons ground coriander
- 1 tablespoons ground cumin
- 1 1/2 teaspoons turmeric 

The other tweak you can do with this recipe if you want is to add some cayenne pepper to taste. I’m usually cooking for kids so I don’t add it, but if you like a kick to your fish, pepper would be a delicious addition!

Image Credit: madpai, Flickr

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