Batter-fried Fish
Samak Maqli
Region: Algeria
Category: Seafood
Season: Any
Difficulty: Easy but special equipment needed

One day in the early 1990s at a very high quality fish market where I was living in Massachusetts, I was aghast at the prices I was paying.  Swordfish was $14 a pound, tuna $15, salmon $11, even cod was $9.  This was crazy.  There was also a fish called ocean pout for $2.99 a pound.  I remembered having heard of it, but couldn't quite place what it was.  But I figured, all these fish came from the same ocean, they're all equally fresh, so how bad could ocean pout be?  Little did I realize that family and friends would be exclaiming how good this fish, also called ling, was.  The texture is vaguely like lobster tails, with a taste a little sweeter than monkfish.  It was a beautiful tasting fish, and the price was right.  It was cheap because Bostonians consider ling a trash fish.  You can use a mix of fish too--sometimes fishmongers sell what they call "chowder" or "soup" fish, which are irregular pieces of fish.  As an update, I thought the reader would be interested in knowing that swordfish was at $25 a pound, tuna at $32 a pound, and Alaskan cod at $12 a pound in California in 2014.  This recipe is an Algerian take in frying fish although typically only a dusting of flour might be used.

[photo: Clifford A. Wright]

Yield: Makes 4 servings
Preparation Time: 25 minutes

Olive oil for frying

1 large egg

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup milk

1 tablespoon water

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon salt and more if desired

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 pound ocean pout (ling) or monkfish or any mixed fish pieces

1. In a deep-fryer or an eight-inch saucepan with a wire fry basket, preheat the frying oil to 370 degrees F.

2. In a bowl, beat the egg and then stir in the flour, milk, water, cumin, and season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper.  It should be a thin batter.

3. Dip the fish pieces, a handful at a time, into the batter.  Let some of the batter drain off, and quickly drop them in succession one at a time into the oil.  Fry 2 to 3 minutes, or until golden brown.  Taste one and adjust the cooking time for the remaining fish to cook to your liking.  Season with more salt and serve.

Variation: 

Note: 

Posted: 12/29/2006