To Boil Fish
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Warm the water in a saucepan.
Ensure the fish is fresh; scrape off the scales, remove the insides and eyes, and cut off the fins.
Wash the fish thoroughly and dry it.
Place the fish on a drainer.
Boil and serve
Add salt to the warm water, then add the fish.
Boil gently for 10 to 20 minutes, depending on thickness.
The fish is done when the skin or bones easily separate.
Drain the water, place the fish on a hot dish, and serve plain or with melted butter.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Fish
- Is the main ingredient cooked whole in the water, its flesh firming as it heats.
The step that matters
Boil gently. Boiling vigorously can break up the flesh and toughen the proteins, so the fish can fall apart. Gentle simmering cooks it evenly while keeping it intact.
“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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