Growing up, I ate alot of fish sticks. Being asian, I ate them with rice, while everyone else perhaps got mac and cheese. Then I grew up and started reading labels, and well, I wish I could like them the same way but I can't. Too much sodium, fat and other ingredients I can't pronounce.
Making them from scratch is very easy though, I bake them so they are healthier, not quite the same as when I was young, but pretty tasty none the less. Instead of ketchup I make a homemade tarter sauce which is even easier!
I used tilapia fillets, and sorry, didn't notice where they were from, and (gasp!) even worse, I served these with a side of Ora Ida Zesty Curls, bad bad bad! Kind of like drinking a diet Coke with your Big Mac! Oh well, I did it, mea culpa, mea culpa, mea culpa. I also made quite a bit of both, and they were goooooood!!
Homemade Fish Sticks
6 small tilapia fillets, thawed
1 cup panko bread crumbs
1/2 c seasoned italian bread crumbs
2 eggs, beaten
salt, pepper and seasoning of your choice (garlic powder, paprika etc)
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spray a foil covered cookie sheet with cooking spray.
Cut your tilapia or any mild white fish lengthwise into "fingers". Season with salt, pepper and or seasonings of your choice. (I used Sylvia's Soulful Seasoning). Put your beaten eggs in a flat container or plate, season. Put your bread crumbs in another flat container or plate and season them a little too.
Dip the fish into the eggs, then into the bread crumbs, pressing the crumbs onto all their surfaces. Place on the cookie sheet, and do the same to the rest of the fish.
Lightly spray the crumb coated fish with cooking spray, or drizzle with a little oil. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes, break one open and see if the fish is opaque and fully cooked. Try not to overcook.
Homemade Tarter Sauce
3/4 cup olive oil mayo, or mayo of choice
3 tbsp, more or less of sweet relish
1 tsp yellow prepared mustard
Mix, taste, add more relish if necessary, and chill until ready to serve.
6 DIY instructions:
I've never added mustard to my tarter sauce before, but I do use my home canned sweet pickle relish. The fish looks good too.
i adore your philosophy & honesty about food. you made both the dish & your sauce from scratch - love it! but at the same time, you've acknowledged the contradictions of living in an urban environment. I try really hard to live from-scratch with real, whole ingredients and I find people are often very fundamentalist about it. No one is perfect so I say well done, sister!
Thanks Kristina! The mustard seems to round out the flavor, gives it a little tang!
Thank you Kristy. I believe in balance and moderation, I'm not quite sure what some people are trying to prove when they become so dogmatic about everything, life is too short! I do believe in buying local from farms and making good food, but I also need my grocery store to stay in business! Cause until Iowa starts growing rice and making soy sauce and all the other asian condiments I use, I will be so going to the supermarket! Thank you for leaving a comment, and thank you for being my 50th follower!
Your fish sticks look yummy--I think my children would enjoy them for a simple and healthy lunch.
Thanks for sharing your recipe.
Your homemade fishsticks and tartar sauce look wonderful and so much healthier than store bought! Thanks for sharing this recipe with the HnS Hop.
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