Deep fried fish scales anyone ??? it’s sounds odd and gross actually, but i guarantee it’s got a nice taste and texture. Crispy Deep fried battered fish scales taste not as bizzare as it’s sounds. The skin of most bony and cartilaginous fishes is covered by scales, and you know what; the FISH SCALES ARE EDIBLE. In Indonesia, cooking fish with it’s scales are common, actually in my Batak decent, Ikan Mas Arsik (Spiced Grass Carp Fish with Torch Ginger and Szechuan Peppercorn) and Ikan Mas Bakar Sambal Rawit (Grilled Grass Carp Fish With Bird Eye Chilli Sauce) is usually served with it’s scales to keep the moistures of the fish. Since the fish scales vary enormously in size, shape, structure, and extent, thats why i recommended you to use the large fish scales for this recipe. The best candidate for the fish scales ingredients is Ikan Batak/Sapan/Semah/Mahseer Fish that i’m using for my Gulai Ikan (Indonesian Fish Curry) recipe, but you can easily use any large fish scales like grass carp (ikan mas), tilapia (ikan nila), or parrot fish (ikan kakak tua). Smaller fish scales like salmon, snapper or even grouper fish can be use but not that easy to handle, make sure it’s preety dry before you dredge it in flour to prevent it’s sticked each others into a lumpy dough.
Despite the fish scales is commonlly considered a grossy thing, fish scales are a surprisingly nutritional food source. It’s containing layers of keratin and enamel, as well as a dermal portion and a layer of protein-rich mucus. Fish scales are said to be rich in calcium, phosphorus, collagen and a host of other nutrients which help prevent osteoporosis. Fish scales are also a raw material in collagen-based products such as skin moisturizers, anti-aging creams, wrinkle removers, hand creams, cleansing gels, and eyelid miracle cures. Collagen is the group of proteins that responsibility to your skins nice texture and health. Deep fried fish scales maybe not really in preserve the healthy colllagen because the high heat break the collagen protein, that’s why some people even made a fish scales jelly.
Deep Fried Fish Scale Recipe:
Ingredients:
- 500 gr fish scales ( sisik ikan)
- 2 tbsp lemon juice or vinegar (i’m using kaffir lime juice/air jeruk purut)
- 1/2 tbsp chicken stock powder (kaldu bubuk instan)
- 2 cups or more all purpose flour (tepung terigu)
- 1 cup rice flour (tepung beras)
- 1/2 tsp Homemade Garam Masala (bubuk kari india)
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder (kunyit bubuk)
- Salt and peper to taste (lada dan garam)
- vegetable oil (minyak goreng) for deep frying
Instruction:
- Wash your fish scale evenly in running water, rub it gently (Don’t over do this step since the mucus/slime is nutritious)
- Put the fish scale in a glass bowl, season it with lime juice, chicken stock powder, turmeric powder, garam masala powder salt and pepper, mx it well and tei it marinade 30 munutes in the fridge
- Meanwhile, mix the all purpose flour and rice flour
- Take the fish scale and drain it well from the dripping liquid
- Dredge the fish scale into the flour, rub and mix it well until all the single “coin” of the fish scale are covered with the flour
- Heat up the oil, deep fried the battered fish scales until got nice golden brown color with medium low heat (It may curled and shrink a little bit, bot it’s ok)
- Drain the deep fried fish scale well
- Serve it immediately as a snack
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