
Butter Lemon Pan-Fried Fish
A simple yet flavorful Western-style pan-fried fish recipe featuring a delicate fish fillet, seasoned and pan-fried to golden perfection, then drizzled with a fragrant brown butter and lemon sauce. Served with sautéed broccoli, this dish highlights the natural sweetness of the fish.
Nutrition· per serving · estimated
Ingredients10 items
Instructions
- 1
Clean the silver pomfret by scraping off any surface dirt. Fillet the fish by carefully cutting along the backbone to remove the flesh in two pieces. Discard the head and bones or save them for making soup.
- 2
Smash the ginger until flattened. Rub the smashed ginger thoroughly over both sides of the fish fillets. Place the fillets in a tray, add water to cover, and let them soak for 10-15 minutes to remove any fishy odor.
15:00 timer - 3
After soaking, remove the fish fillets from the ginger water and pat them completely dry with paper towels.
- 4
Chop the broccoli into florets. Squeeze the lemon to extract 1 tablespoon of juice, removing any seeds. Finely chop the coriander.
- 5
Season both sides of the dried fish fillets generously with salt and black pepper.
- 6
Heat 2 tablespoons of cooking oil in a non-stick pan over medium-low heat. Once hot, place the fish fillet skin-side down in the pan.
- 7
Pan-fry the fish for 5 minutes on the skin side until golden brown and crispy. While the fish is frying, bring a small pot of water to a boil and blanch the broccoli florets for 1-2 minutes until tender-crisp. Drain and set aside.
5:00 timer - 8
Flip the fish fillet and continue to pan-fry for another 5 minutes until cooked through and golden on both sides. Adjust heat as needed to prevent burning.
5:00 timer - 9
In a separate wok, heat 1 tablespoon of cooking oil. Add the blanched broccoli, season with a pinch of salt and black pepper, and stir-fry for 1-2 minutes until slightly charred. Remove from heat and set aside.
- 10
In a small saucepan, melt the unsalted butter over low heat. Smash the garlic clove and add it to the melting butter. Cook until the garlic is fragrant, then remove the garlic.
- 11
Continue to cook the butter on low heat, stirring occasionally, until it turns a light brown (nutty) color. Be careful not to burn it.
- 12
Strain the browned butter into a small bowl to remove any solids. Once slightly cooled, stir in the lemon juice.
- 13
Place the pan-fried fish fillet on a serving plate. Drizzle the lemon brown butter sauce evenly over the fish. Garnish with chopped coriander.
- 14
Serve immediately with the sautéed broccoli on the side.