A fresh piece of Hake being placed into a frying pan

Pan Fry

HOW TO: To pan fry a piece of fish, use a non-stick pan or one that you know is non-sticky! Heat the pan and add a few tablespoons of a neutral oil (vegetable oil will do).  When the oil is hot, lay the fish in the pan. For hake, bass and salmon put it in the pan skin-side down. For cod, thick white fish, flat fish fillets and gurnard lay them flesh-side down. 

Allow the fish to sizzle and don’t be tempted to turn them, let the pan do the work, you will see the heat rise and the fish will firm up. If it’s a thin piece of fish turn it and cook for just a minute or so and it's done. If the fish is thicker, after you've turned it place in a pre-heated oven set to 200˚C/180˚C Fan/400˚F/Gas Mark 6 for about 3-4 minutes to finish the cooking.