Polish Fried Fish (Ryba Smażona) is a perfect choice for most of our family. My sister doesn’t eat mammals; our daughter is pescitarian.
Fried fish it is when looking for a main dish to serve for my dad’s birthday dinner. Many recipes I found on Polish food blogs involve marinating the fish in lemon juice for 30 minutes or so before patting drying and flouring and frying.
You might decide to take this path. I chose a method described on Polska Foods, a maker of organic pierogi that has sadly ceased operations. Their technique involves brining the fish before cooking.
What to Serve with Fried Fish
What else did we serve for this family dinner? About 4 dozen pierogi ruskie, a small batch, I know. My sister and I made them the day before.
The pierogi were very popular. Only a few remain for Ed’s lunch tomorrow. I’m happy to say we had extra filling, so it’s waiting in the freezer ready to make another appearance.
We also had mizeria, a cucumber salad in a sour cream dressing. I also tried a variation on Polish Cabbage Salad making it instead with a package of broccoli slaw fixings. I just chopped it a little finer and substituted it for the cabbage in the recipe.
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I used cod for our Polish Fried Fish (Ryba Smażona), but any mild white fish would work perfectly. There were no leftovers, so this is a recipe you might consider for a Lenten supper of Christmas Eve when you’re going meatless.
To accompany our fried fish, I mixed up a tartare sauce. Actually, it would be more accurate to say I pulled ingredients out of the fridge and pressed my mom into service mixing up this sauce. This is what went in: mayo, finely diced dill pickle, a sprinkle of dried minced onion, and a squirt of Srirachia sauce.
I hope this is a handy recipe for you to have on hand!
Smacznego!
Lois
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Polish Fried Fish (Ryba Smażona)
- Prep Time: 45 min
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: Serves 6
- Category: Fish
- Method: Frying
- Cuisine: Polish
Description
Quck and easy brining makes for moist delicous fried fish
Ingredients
- enough water to cover fish (4-6 cups)
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons salt
- 2 pounds cod fillets
- salt
- 1 cup flour
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 1 1/2 cups bread crumbs
- oil for frying
Instructions
- Place cod in a shallow pan
- Combine water, with sugar and salt in a shallow dish, add the fillets and brine for 30 minute
- Removed fish and pat dry and season with salt, set up 3 dishes, the first with flour, the second with beaten egg, and the final dish with breadcrumbs
- Coat each fillet with flour (remove excess), dip into egg, and then roll in bread crumbs
- Heat oil 1/2 inch deep to approx. 350 F, and cook on both sides, unti lbrown and interal temp is 145 F, drain on paper towels
Notes
Amounts for flour and bread crumbs are approxiamte. Start with a smaller amount if you like and add more as needed.
An accountant by trade and a food blogger since 2009, Lois Britton fell in love with Polish cuisine during the years she lived in Poznań, Poland. As the creator of PolishHousewife.com, she loves connecting readers with traditional Polish recipes. Lois has a graduate certificate in Food Writing and Photography from the University of South Florida. She is the author of The Polish Housewife Cookbook, available on Amazon and on her website.
Laurel
Yummo! I want some right now, heh heh.
Susan McQuade
Hi Lois
Do you think this could be baked rather than fryed?
Thanks
Sue
polishhousewife
I’ll bet you could, Susan. I might give it a spray of oil, but I think it would bake up just fine!
Gretty Emmerich
My mouth is watering, Lois! Thank you for sharing. I love cucumbers and want to look for the fig balsamic that you pulled out of your pantry. My husband recently had a coronary event and so we need to watch our fat intake for his benefit…I will utilize this fish recipe and reduce the fat so he can enjoy it. Lovely ideas! Your Unlikely RVing friend, Gretty
polishhousewife
I think if you prepare as the recipe describes, but give it a light spray if oil and bake, it would be fantastic. Take care, Gretty!
David
I have never thought to brine fish! Cool.
polishhousewife
It was a first for me too!
Angie
I wonder how it would do in an air fryer
polishhousewife
It’s worth a try!
Irene Anderson
I do all my fish in an Air Fryer. Mine is an old type with a paddle so I take out the paddle and turn about half way through cooking. Time depends on the thickness of the fish. My Fryer does not have temp. control but cooks the fish beautifully. I bread more fish than we are going to eat and freeze it and then cook from frozen in the Air Fryer There is only two of us so mine is fine. I would like a bigger Air Fryer. Best Kitchen appliance I have. I would not be without it.