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Panko and Chile-dusted Catfish with Tomato Chutney and Lemon Sauce

A catfish dish coated in panko and chile, served with tomato chutney and lemon sauce.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 27 ingredients
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Why it works: Lemon and thyme match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,973 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓

Panko and Chile-dusted Catfish with Tomato Chutney and Lemon Sauce

Ovenhot oven

Ingredients

Directions

Coat and cook the catfish

  1. Cut each catfish fillet into three pieces.

  2. Mix the panko with chile powder and a touch of salt and pepper.

  3. Dredge catfish in the panko mixture, then set aside.

  4. Heat the oil over medium-high heat.

  5. Add catfish and cook three minutes per side, then finish for two minutes in hot oven.

Make the lemon sauce

  1. Combine wine with thyme, shallot, lemon zest, and juice, then reduce over heat by two-thirds.

  2. Add fish stock and reduce the liquid mixture over heat by half.

  3. Add cream and reduce the new liquid mixture over heat by half.

  4. Whisk in butter slowly, then season.

  5. Place the saucepan in a large, shallow pan of warm water to keep warm until ready to serve.

Make the spicy tomato chutney

  1. In a large pot over medium heat, fry garlic, onion, ginger, and jalapeños in oil for one minute.

  2. Add spices and continue cooking for one more minute.

  3. Add tomatoes, a dash of salt, and bring to a boil.

  4. Cook for 15 minutes or until almost reduced to a coarse paste, then remove from heat.

  5. Add chopped cilantro.

Serve

  1. Pool lemon sauce on each plate.

  2. Place catfish on top of sauce.

  3. Spoon one tablespoon of spicy tomato chutney onto each portion.

  4. Try serving with grits.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

1298Calories
66 gProtein
49 gFat
144 gCarbs

Counts 20 of 24 ingredients. The other 4 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 20 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Salmon100g cooked208
Clam100g cooked148
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Corn Oil1/2 cup kernels (82g)77
Cream1 tbsp (15ml) heavy51
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Wine2 tbsp cooking wine (30ml)25
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Lemonjuice of 1 lemon (48ml)12
Cumin1 tsp ground (2.1g)8
Shallot1 tbsp minced (10g)7
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Thyme1 tsp dried (1.4g)4
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Mustard1 tsp (5g) yellow3
Ginger1 tsp grated fresh (2g)2
Cilantro1 tbsp chopped fresh (1g)1
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Catfishnot in our table0
Saucenot in our table0
Fenugreeknot in our table0
Seednot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Lemon + thymetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,973 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  2. Thyme + shallottop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,476 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

  3. Pepper + lemontop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together27,047 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).

  4. Pepper + thymetop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together11,585 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  5. Catfish + saucetop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together55 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Catfish fillets
Forms the main protein, cooking to a moist, flaky texture under a crisp coating.
Panko
Creates a light, crisp coating that browns when the fish is fried.
White wine
Provides acidity and flavor that concentrates as the sauce reduces.
Butter
Adds richness and gives the lemon sauce a silky, emulsified body.
Roma tomatoes
Form the body of the chutney and add acidity as they cook down to a paste.

The step that matters

Whisk in the butter slowly. Adding cold butter gradually and keeping the sauce warm but not boiling lets it emulsify into a smooth sauce. Too much heat or fast addition can separate the butterfat and leave the sauce greasy.

Swap the shallot

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (catfish, pepper, lemon, sauce, white wine, thyme, fish):

  1. Capsicumfits about as well
  2. Shallotthe original
  3. Tomatofits about as well
  4. Mustardfits less well

Fit is the average pairing score against catfish, pepper, lemon, sauce, white wine, thyme, fish. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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