Whole fried mojarra (tilapia), scored to the bone, rubbed with garlic and lime, and fried until the skin and fins crackle. The everyday fish of Mexican beach shacks and fondas, eaten with your hands, warm tortillas, lime, and salsa.
Serves 2Prep 30 minCook 15 min
Can't find Mojarra?
Dorada — Both are mild, white, versatile farmed fish — tilapia is softer and more neutral in flavor, sea bream has more character and is better suited to whole cooking.
Ingredients & method
Ingredients
2 whole mojarras (tilapia), 400 to 600 g each, scaled and gutted
3 garlic cloves
1½ teaspoons fine salt, plus more to finish
Juice of 2 limes
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon ground ancho or guajillo chile (optional)
4 tablespoons plain flour, for a light dusting
Neutral oil for frying, enough for 2 to 3 cm in a wide pan
To serve: lime wedges, warm corn tortillas, salsa roja or pico de gallo, sliced onion, avocado
Method
1Rinse the fish and pat it completely dry, inside the cavity as well as the skin.
2With a sharp knife, make 3 or 4 diagonal cuts on each side, about 2 cm apart, down to the bone.
3Crush the garlic to a paste with the salt. Stir in the lime juice, pepper and chile, then rub it into the cuts and the cavity. Leave for 15 to 20 minutes, no longer, or the lime starts to cure the flesh.
4Pat the surface dry again and dust both sides lightly with flour, shaking off the excess.
5Heat 2 to 3 cm of oil in a wide, heavy pan to 180 °C (350 °F). A pinch of flour should sizzle immediately.
6Lower one fish into the oil, laying it away from you. Fry without moving it for 6 to 8 minutes, until the edges and fins are golden and crisp.
7Turn it carefully with two spatulas and fry 5 to 7 minutes more. It is done when the flesh beside the backbone, at the thickest cut, is opaque and lifts away.
8Drain on a rack, salt it while hot, and fry the second fish. Serve straight away with lime, tortillas and salsa.
Cook this well
$$ · filleting, skinning, and trimming whole fish
Fillet a whole fish without wasting half of it
Following the bones and contours of whole fish with a narrow, flexible blade.
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Chef's tip Dryness and scoring do the work. A wet fish spatters and steams instead of crisping, and an unscored one burns outside before the middle cooks. If the mojarra tastes muddy, which pond-raised tilapia sometimes does, a longer salt rub and plenty of lime at the table cover it.
Cook this later?Save the recipe, then keep notes on what worked and what you'd change next time.
