How to Cook Fish

Though fish is regularly eaten raw in the form of sushi or ceviche, in Western countries in particular it is more often eaten cooked. It can be cooked whole (gutted), in pieces, in steaks, or in fillets. Different types of fish need very different amounts of cooking time. For instance, tuna cooks far more quickly than salmon. Before cooking a particular type of fish, always make sure you know how long it should be cooked.

Fish is cooked when its flesh becomes opaque, falls apart easily, and is uniform in color (milky white if the flesh is white) but still moist. Fish will continue to cook after being removed from heat, so you should shorten the cooking time if the fish will not be served immediately. Fish can be cooked in numerous ways. The most common methods include baking, grilling, poaching, steaming, braising, pan-frying, deep-frying, and microwaving.