recipe: fish fingers

Nate has long been in the "I don't like any food" phase of life. Ben is still usually a good eater, but gradually arriving in that phase as well. Because of this, I have been looking for lots of kid-friendly foods. (Now's as good a time as any to point out this Chik fil a copy cat recipe. It's one of the few recipes I actually follow exactly.)

The boys love fish fingers (fish sticks) that come in a box, frozen, precooked, and highly processed. One great thing about living here is that we don't have access to all of that processed food. But it also means that my kids, who have tasted processed food in the US and LOOOVE it, have a hard time finding fresh food that they like. It has taken me a year to find a fish recipe the picky toddler will eat. We've tried to get them to eat different types of fish, cooked different ways. Sometimes in the past Ben would, but less so now. I've tried different recipes for fish fingers, thinking maybe if they look the "right" shape and are fried, they'll eat them. No go.

Until today.

I started with this recipe, but I kind of did my own thing. One thing that is really great about their recipe is the suggested addition of turmeric to the bread crumbs for color. Kids love colorful food. (I'm looking at you, Rainbow Goldfish.) I took that suggestion, and they did turn out with great color. Another secret to the success this time, I think, is that we had a very mild flavored fish (Nile Perch), which also had a great texture for the small pieces.

Note that I did not measure anything, so the following recipe is true Ken-Tex family style cooking.

It's hard to get a good picture in our house at night. The lights are not very bright.

Fish Fingers

2 servings of fish, filleted (It's usually enough. We didn't know the boys would eat.)
flour, about half a cereal bowl
1 egg
breadcrumbs, same amount as flour
garlic powder
paprika
salt
black pepper
turmeric
oil for frying

1. Cut the fish into thumb-sized pieces. I aimed for similar thickness to the ones my mom served them in Texas - the frozen ones they adore.
2. Place flour in a small bowl. Add some (1/2 tsp, give or take) garlic powder and paprika, 2 pinches of salt, and a few shakes of black pepper. Mix thoroughly. Beat the egg in a separate small bowl. Place the breadcrumbs in a third small bowl. Add some turmeric. Mix thoroughly.
3. Coat the fish fingers in flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs.
4. Heat oil in a frying pan, < 1/2" deep. When the oil is hot, add the fish and fry until golden brown. The original said 3-4 min per side, but I didn't think they were golden brown enough yet. I did about 10 minutes total. Remove from oil and drain on a towel or paper towels.

There are none left. At all. And I bet we would have kept eating if there had been more.