Do you need to salt fish in advance? What kind of fish should be salted in advance?

We all know that many people cook fish at home. Fish is a relatively nutritious food. It has a variety of cooking methods, tender and delicious meat, and is very delicious. It has high nutritional value and is deeply loved by people. There are certain requirements for cooking fish, especially the processing of fish. So should fish be marinated with salt in advance? Let's take a closer look!

Should fish be salted in advance?

Whether you need to add salt to fish depends on what kind of fish you are cooking and how you cook it. Generally speaking, it is best not to add salt to steamed fish; but you should add salt to stewed, boiled, fried, or deep-fried fish to make it tasty.

1. Steamed fish

It is best not to add salt to steamed fish in advance. Just marinate with some shredded green onion, ginger and cooking wine for about 15 minutes to remove the fishy smell.

Steamed fish is most important for its "freshness and tenderness". It is best to use fresh live fish or fish that has been killed within a few hours, and generally, fish with delicate meat such as sea bass and yellow croaker are preferred. Why? Because steamed fish is all about "freshness and tenderness", that is, the taste requires the original "freshness" and the taste requires "tenderness", so that it can be called delicious. We have analyzed above that salt will kill the moisture in the fish meat and make the protein coagulate, making the fish meat firm in taste, so if you want to make steamed fish, in order to maintain the delicate taste of the fish meat, it is best not to add salt to marinate.

The general method of steaming fish is to clean the fish, marinate it with scallion, ginger, cooking wine, etc. for 15 minutes to remove the fishy smell, and then steam it in boiling water. After the fish is steamed and taken out of the pot, pour out the fishy water in the dish, sprinkle with scallion, ginger, pour hot oil, and finally pour steamed fish soy sauce. When eating, dip it in the sauce in the dish. Steaming fish in this way can maintain the fresh taste and tender texture of the fish to the greatest extent.

2. Other common cooking methods, such as braised fish, boiled fish, fried fish, deep-fried fish, etc.

In addition to steaming fish, other methods of cooking such as braised fish, boiled fish, fried fish, deep-fried fish, etc. can be analyzed together here. These methods emphasize "taste". Generally, before we cook fish, whether it is a whole fish, fish fillets, or fish pieces, we must add salt, cooking wine, green onion, ginger, etc. and spread them evenly or grab them to marinate them before proceeding to the next step of cooking.

Here we have three purposes and functions of marinating: 1. Marinate in advance. Fish meat is delicate and does not take as long to cook as other meats, so salt is not easy to absorb. Therefore, it is generally necessary to add salt and marinate in advance. 2. Make the fish meat firm and not easy to break. As mentioned earlier, fish meat, especially some tender fish, is particularly easy to break when boiled, stewed, fried, and deep-fried. If it is marinated thoroughly with salt in advance, this situation can be effectively avoided. 3. Make the fish less likely to stick to the pan. When frying or deep-frying fish, another advantage of salting fish in advance is that it is not easy to stick to the pan. Because under the action of salt, some of the water in the fish meat is lost, and some of the protein has solidified, so as long as the fish is put into the pan, it is relatively difficult to stick to the pan.

What is the effect of salting fish in advance?

Adding salt to marinate fish is, of course, to give the fish flavor in advance. Especially when the whole fish is stewed, it is not easy for the fish to be flavored, so we usually make cuts on the fish belly and apply salt, cooking wine and other seasonings to marinate it. However, in addition to letting the saltiness enter the fish in advance, salt also has another effect, which is to make the fish meat more firm. We know that fish meat itself is very tender, and salt can make the protein in the fish meat coagulate, so that not only the taste of the fish meat becomes firm, but also the fish meat is not easy to break when stewing or frying the fish. Especially for some fish with relatively tender meat, such as yellow croaker, sea bass, etc., the effect is particularly obvious: if it is directly fried, deep-fried or stewed in a pan, the fish meat will easily break when touched by a spatula. But if the salt is applied and marinated thoroughly, the fish meat becomes firm, and this situation will be improved a lot. If you have cooked these kinds of fish, I believe you will have a deep experience.

What kind of fish should be marinated with salt in advance?

If you are going to steam the fish, do not marinate it in advance. The purpose of steaming the fish is to enjoy the original flavor of the fish. The freshness of the fish will be lost if it is marinated with salt. If you are going to fry it, you can marinate it in advance, for about 30 minutes. The marinated fish meat will be firmer, and will not fall off as easily when frying. It will also taste more flavorful!

Nowadays, people are more and more aware of the nutritional value of fish and consciously eat fish frequently. Fish is rich in nutrition and tender in taste, but it also has a strong fishy smell. Therefore, people are accustomed to marinating fish before cooking, first to remove the fishy smell, and second to make it taste better.

Some tips for cooking fish

1. There is no need to salt steamed fish, because steamed fish is the essence of fish.

2. It is up to you whether to marinate the braised fish or the home-cooked fish. Marinating it in advance will make the fish more flavorful, thus shortening the stewing time. The fish will also taste better if you stew it in the pot for a while longer and soak it for a while longer after it is cooked.

3. Dry-fried fish also does not need to be marinated in advance. After the fish meat is cut into pieces, stew it for a while longer and the fish meat will also be flavorful (slightly sour, spicy, sweet and salty).

4. Salted fish is marinated and air-dried in advance