Fish is an excellent source of protein, vitamins, and trace elements, which is why dietitians recommend eating it at least twice a week. Fortunately, grocery stores offer many budget-friendly fish options that are just as nutritious and flavorful as more expensive varieties.
The key is knowing how to prepare each type correctly. Below, we explain which fish are best for frying, baking, or adding to salads.
Hake: Tender and Versatile
Hake is a marine fish with delicate white flesh and a mild flavor similar to cod. One of its biggest advantages is the relatively small number of bones.
Health Benefits
Hake is lean, low in calories (about 86 kcal per 100 g raw), easy to digest, and an excellent source of iodine.
What to Cook
Hake is often fried: simply season the pieces with salt and black pepper, dip them in beaten egg and flour, and fry until golden. It is also excellent when stewed or baked, especially with onions.
A simple trick makes baked hake even better: caramelize sliced onions in butter with a pinch of sugar before adding them to the fish.
This removes bitterness from the onions and gives the mild fish a subtle sweetness, resulting in an inexpensive but very appetizing dish.
Hake fillet, like other white fish such as pollock or cod, is ideal for fish cakes. If using frozen fillets, be sure to pat them dry thoroughly after thawing so the patties hold their shape during frying.
Important Tip
Frozen fish should be thawed gradually in the refrigerator. Avoid hot water, which can make the flesh dry.
Recipe: Hake Fish Cakes
To make hake fish cakes, you will need fish fillet, a small onion, and semolina. For extra juiciness, add a little cream or finely chopped pork fat.
The patties can be fried, baked, or steamed. Fresh or dried dill, green onions, or parsley will enhance the aroma, while paprika will give the cakes a beautiful amber color.
Pollock: Budget-Friendly and Nutritious
Thanks to large-scale harvesting, pollock is inexpensive but nutritionally comparable to pricier fish. It is valued for its neutral taste, which slightly resembles crab meat.
Interesting Facts
Crab sticks are often made from pollock.
In Japan, there is even a theme park dedicated to pollock products, including fish-flavored ice cream.
Health Benefits
Pollock is very low in fat and high in protein (16 g per 100 g). It contains only 72 kcal per 100 g of fillet and is rich in B vitamins, especially vitamin B12, as well as iodine and omega-3 fatty acids.
What to Cook
One of the tastiest ways to prepare pollock is to bake or stew it under a topping of carrots, onions, cheese, and sour cream or mayonnaise. Lightly sautéing the vegetables beforehand helps keep the dish tender without becoming greasy.
Recipe: Oven-Baked Pollock
Pollock cooks quickly, so avoid prolonged heat treatment. Its high protein content makes it especially sensitive to overcooking.
Boiled pollock or hake fillet is also commonly used in salads. For a creative twist, try combining pollock with berries, arugula, feta cheese, and almonds.
Recipe: Pollock in Batter Salad
A dense batter forms a crisp golden crust that locks in the fish's juices. Fried pollock pairs beautifully with fresh berries, salty feta, spicy arugula, and almonds, while a balsamic-mustard dressing ties the flavors together.
Blue Whiting: Lean but Bony
Blue whiting is a marine fish with firm white flesh and a flavor similar to hake, but it contains many small bones and should be eaten carefully.
Health Benefits
This fish is ideal for dietary menus: it is low in fat, rich in easily digestible protein (16 g per 100 g), and contains iodine and phosphorus. Its liver is especially valued for producing medicinal fish oil.
Recipe: Blue Whiting and Cucumber Salad
This simple salad combines boiled blue whiting with cucumbers, potatoes, onions, and mayonnaise. For a lighter version, mayonnaise can be replaced with sour cream or low-fat yogurt.
If you want the onion flavor to be milder, blanch it briefly with boiling water.
Capelin: Small, Flavorful, and Fast
Capelin is a small fish that does not require cleaning or gutting. Unlike smelt, which smells like fresh cucumber, capelin has a pronounced fish aroma.
Interesting Facts
Capelin is popular in Japan, where roe-bearing Norwegian capelin is often cooked in tempura or baked.
Health Benefits
Capelin contains B vitamins, iodine, phosphorus, magnesium, calcium, and a high concentration of omega-3 fatty acids.
What to Cook
Capelin is most often fried. Simply coat it in flour and spices and fry in hot oil. Because the fish is small, it takes only a few minutes per side.
Recipe: Fried Capelin
Capelin cooks quickly and requires minimal preparation. For variety, flour can be replaced with semolina or breadcrumbs.
Frozen fish does not need to be cooked immediately and can be stored in the freezer for later use.
