Panko-breaded tilapia, medium fried, non-stick pan, absorbed oil

I just cooked some breaded tilapia. The breading consists mostly of panko. As per my "chef" training, to bread it, I did the usual:

Dusted the fish in flour first
Dipped it in egg next
Dredged it in panko last

I fried about 4-5 pieces with maybe 1/4" of oil in a non-stick frying pan -- gas stove (medium burner, medium heat). I'm surprised that by the time I finished the fourth piece of fish, I had to put more oil.

I thought the addition of flour, and the fairly high heat, should have prevented the fish from absorbing oil. I don't think the oil was too cold, because after I flipped the fish (two minutes on one side), the panko looked golden brown and a touch burned.

What did I do wrong?

frying fish

Best Answer

It's not the fish absorbing most of the oil, it's the breading. When you cook something starchy in oil, it's going to absorb SOME of the oil. Using high heat minimizes the amount of oil that it will absorb, but it's always going to absorb some. Furthermore, panko has a lot of surface area. Some of the oil is just going to get carried out of the pan on the surface of the breading, which will probably drip or be blotted off later.

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Panko-breaded tilapia, medium fried, non-stick pan, absorbed oil - Back view crop unrecognizable person pouring olive or sunflower oil into frying pan placed on stove in domestic kitchen

Panko-breaded tilapia, medium fried, non-stick pan, absorbed oil - Ethnic woman demonstrating bottle of olive oil while cooking

Panko-breaded tilapia, medium fried, non-stick pan, absorbed oil - Crop ethnic woman pouring oil on pan

Does panko absorb oil?

Using high heat minimizes the amount of oil that it will absorb, but it's always going to absorb some. Furthermore, panko has a lot of surface area. Some of the oil is just going to get carried out of the pan on the surface of the breading, which will probably drip or be blotted off later.

How do I make my breading crisp?

Cook the food on a wire rack in the oven The baking sheet will catch any of the drippings from the food, but the space between the baking sheet and the rack will give air plenty of room to move around between the food, and between the panko crumbs that will continue getting crisp.

How do you make panko crispy again?

You want to reheat only enough to get the food warm enough to enjoy, but not so piping hot that it would trigger additional browning. At these low temperatures, you should not get too much additional browning, although you will never have the ideal crispy texture that first-fried foods have.

SO EASY \u0026 SO DELICIOUS Panko Fried Fish

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