Every now and then I fry fish fillets coated with egg and breadcrumbs.

Yesterday I tried a new recipe which turned out pretty good I though.

Instead of using breadcrumbs, I used potato flakes (just from a package of instant mashed potatoes)
I also mixed the egg with Dijon mustard and some herbs.

Check out the recipe here:

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/crispy-fish-fillets/

Mmmm...

Fish coated in potato flakes and deep fried...

So THAT is what you New Zealander's mean by fush an chups... :lol: :lol:

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

LOL - although I didn't deep fry - just pan fry.

Fair nuff...

But I thought in Kiwilund you only pan fry when you are not expecting to get much. Like not expecting to get sex...or more people turn up for dunner ?

hmy: hmy:
:laugh: :laugh:

On a serious note...

What Mark is suggesting is something to try. There is no hard and fast rule to say that bread is the only way to crumb.

I often use nuts. Simply put your chosen nuts in a food processor and blitz into a crumb. Remember thou that nuts are oily, so it is not easy to get an over-all coat...So, just coat one side! With fish either skin side or flesh side works. You can crumb the skin side with nuts leaving the flesh side moist and juicy. Or crumb the flesh side and also crisping the skin side giving an over-all crispyness and nutty crunch perfect if you serve the fish with a sauce.

TIP time --- Using nuts is not the easiest thing to do. But it's like riding a bike, once you get it...you have got it! So to start with, try crisping the skin side in a fry pan. Then without turning the fish coat the flesh side with the nut crumb and pop under the salamander (that griller thing on your stove ). The nuts will brown up just nicely under the salamander and will finish cooking the flesh just perfectly.

your Kiwi accent is better then mine. I conclude that either your woife is Kiwi or you have spend too much time in Aotearoa B)

wow nuts is an interesting idea - wouldn't have thought of that - I'm gonna try that.
Maybe peanuts...

A woife...Wot ?....Nah mate I am completely sungle.

I don't even have a girl friend...In fact I might not have any friends...Even the bloody dog keeps hiding behind the cloths line, take a look yourself over there <-

I have concluded that any women that can cook, bait a hook, clean fish and own a boat are taken...The rest are either married or gay

haha - man the dog is funny
If they are all taken and married then the only option would be to steal one.
Or you have to find a young one and train her how to cook and clean the fish

I have just been borrowing the one from across the road when the husband is not home...What he does not know does no harm

Good stuff guys.

I'm one of the lucky ones - the "woif" loves to fish, can bait a hook and take the fish off the hook when she catches one.

On the recipe's, I've heard of the potato flakes before, supposed to cook up nice and crispy.

As for breading, another alternative to traditional bread crumbs, is panko breadcrumbs (I guess it's a Japanese bread?). It also cooks up a bit more crispy than traditional breadcrumbs.

Our family prefers beer-battered, deep fried fish fillets. If anyone wants my simple recipe, I'll share.

The old-school way we fried fish when I was a kid was to simply get the fish wet then dredge in a mix of flour, salt, and pepper, then pan fry in butter.

Smoked fish can be really good too. I normally only smoke trout and salmon, but this summer I accidentally brined some catfish fillets (they were frozen in water, and looked like salmon in that state). Since they were already brined, I went ahead and smoked them with cherrywood smoke, and they turned out very good. Just one more option.