I never grew up eating a lot of fish or even heard of Tilapia, even though my father was a fisherman and would come home with striped bass, mussels, clams and many other fish but never Tilapia.  We also would eat Baccalà which was a cod fish that was cured in salt, my mother would always make it with a red tomato sauce and let me tell you, it was so not my favorite.  Over the years though I have not only made fish in my house but I’m open to trying different recipes out and about.

A few years ago, at a restaurant, I ate a Tilapia dish that had a sweet “crust” that I loved (not even a crust but a sweet flavor).  So of course I had to research how to make it at home.  I’m not sure if I created a recipe that I tasted that night but I can share that this recipe is pretty amazing.  Even my kids friends, who ever ate fish or liked fish, love this recipe, it’s not a fishy flavor at all.

So I bet you are thinking…”I need that recipe” lol.  It’s a super easy recipe, I use Tilapia because it’s an easy fish to find, it’s thin and cooks up easily and everyone likes Tilapia because it’s not a fishy fish (like salmon) and the sweetness comes from a sprinkle of brown sugar and mirin (a rice cooking wine).  You can find mirin at the markets in the Asian aisle.  I served my dish with my chickpea salad, my smashed potatoes and a fennel salad.

I place a teflon frying pan on my stove top and put it on to medium heat. I then take a baking sheet and place my cooling rack (you probably have one for your baked goods) on top and lay my Tilapia on top of the rack and I season it with salt and pepper.

I put a little oil on the bottom of my pan and I add the Tilapia, I cook it for about 4 minutes or until the fish begins to cook through and you can see the whites of the fish (that means the fish cooked, kind of like chicken)

I flip it and cook it on the other side…make sure you season both side of your Tilapia as you can see from my examples

I then remove the fish from the pan and place it back on the cooling rack

here is the best part of this dish, I sprinkle the pan with some brown sugar

and place the fish back on top and I drizzle just a tiny bit of that Mirin on the bottom and let it caramelize…OMG…it’s so good!!!!

I flip it again

let it cook for about a minute or so and remove it.  I’m telling you this is a quick recipe, especially for those working moms who forgot to pull something out of the freezer before leaving for work because the whole meal can be cooked in 10-12 minutes.

Here is a photo with my Tilapia and side dishes, again with my chickpea salad, smashed potatoes and fennel salad….YUMMY!!!!!

I hope you enjoy this recipe as it’s truly a keeper!

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Thank you again ~ Patty Limatola-Tanenbaum

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