Pan Fried Tilapia

Having lived in apartments without automatic dishwashers for around 4 years, I have gotten use to taking shortcuts to reduce the amount of dishes I use for any given recipe.  We are now in a house and have a dishwasher and I still I find myself doing this unconsciously.  The extra dishes weren't even usually something that I had to deal with as the usual agreement between Hey, Babe and I is that one of us will make dinner, the other will clean up after it.  (Though, the amount of dish washing that needed to be done directly impacted the amount of good natured grumbling I would need to put up with.)

There are certain meals that require a lot of dishes.  For example one of Hey, Babe's favorites, Chicken Parmesan. The three dishes just to bread the chicken pieces automatically starts racking up the dish washing points.  This is why when I decided to attempt to make a pan fried fish for dinner, I started out with several shortcuts.  Rather than setting up a plate of flour, a bowl of egg, and a plate of breading I decided to stick with some seasonings, mayo, and panko applied straight from their individual containers onto the fish fillets, no middle man dishes involved whatsoever.  It worked fabulously.

I am quite pleased not only with how well this worked to get the breading to adhere, but also with how flavorful the end result was.  I am also thrilled that Hey, Babe thoroughly enjoyed (and finished) his piece of dreaded fish, he even had to fight Little Man for it!  Solid evidence that both of my guys felt this preparation technique was a winner.  I have a feeling that I am going to be attempting to combine this method with the recipe for Amazingly Moist Salmon.  I believe that the seasonings in the mayo sauce added together with the crunch of the panko breading would be wonderful together.  I will definitely turn to this method again for a delicious and quicker way of breading.

Quick Pan Fried Tilapia

Ingredients
Tilapia fillet
Dried Tarragon
onion powder
garlic powder
salt
pepper
mayonnaise
panko bread crumbs
olive oil, vegetable oil, or butter

Instructions
Place desired number of servings of tilapia (or your other favorite fish) on a plate. Pat the surface of each fillet dry and sprinkle dried tarragon, onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper on each.

Take a small spoonful of mayonnaise and dollop it onto the top side of each fillet.  Spread a thin layer of mayo to the edges with a knife or your fingers.  Sprinkle panko crumbs liberally over the mayo, using your fingers to firmly press them to the fillet.  Flip each fillet and repeat on the other side.

Meanwhile heat a large skillet over medium high heat.  Add your choice of grease until there is a layer over the entire bottom of the pan, about 1/4 inch thick.  Fry fillets, in batches if needed, until golden brown, about 3 minutes per side depending on thickness, serve with your choice of tartar sauce, cocktail sauce, or ketchup.