This super delicious and healthy Parmesan Panko Crusted Fish is a perfect weeknight meal as it’s quick to prepare and delivers on taste!
Holiday breaks and binge eating!
We pledge to eat healthy right after binge eating during the Christmas holiday but only to break it when the Easter holidays arrive. Ok who am I kidding, I haven’t even started my diet this year yet BUT in the last 4 days, we have indulged in a ridiculous amount of binge eating. So bad that I don’t even want to think about food which is unusual as I’M CONSTANTLY THINKING ABOUT FOOD!
On the last day of our Easter holiday, we impulsively drove to Cabramatta for Yum Cha and ended up witnessing an awful incident. I’ll fill you in on this drama later but for now, let me tell you how much we love Cabramatta. It’s every foodies’ dream, everything that I see I want to eat and I did exactly just that! In the afternoon I could feel my stomach expanding, so much that the button on my jeans was threatening to violently fly off and hit an innocent bystander in the eye.
Before I pass out from a self-inflicted food coma I wanted to pop on here and post this Parmesan Panko Crusted Fish recipe.
This delicious parmesan fish is a self-reminder of the healthy and nutritious food I should be eating! Not the fried dumplings and sugary treats I have been treating myself to.
These yummy fish fillets are super simple to make! Just five minutes of prep time and shove it in the oven to bake. You’ll be rewarded with flakey, juicy and tender fish fillets coated with a mouthwatering golden parmesan crust.
Subscribe to 3CatsFoodie’s FREE Newsletter
For the latest recipes and other fun stuff!
Let me share our morning with you
Today I woke up craving for Dim sum, so the four of us hopped into the car and drove to our favourite place for authentic Asian food, Cabramatta.
We decided to try the Yum cha the Iron Chef restaurant had to offer. When we arrived we were delighted to find ample parking but our delight turned into horror when we were greeted by a dramatic scene.
There was a man standing at the entrance of our car park handing tickets to cars. An elderly lady drove in and when prompted she advised that she was planning to visit the shops nearby. The man advised her that the parking was for Iron Chef guests. From what we could make out, she offered to pay for the parking and he declined her offer. She then said ‘God bless you!’ which enraged the man. He blew up and he began shouting obscenities and repeating on top of his lungs ‘Do you think I want your money?! do you think I’m poor?! get the **** out of my car park’. He then proceeded to spat at her car when she drove out.
My husband Tomasi, Sister Nara and I stood there watching near our car in shock. Tomasi was holding onto my 16-month-old son Kai and he kept saying ‘UH OH, UH OH’ loudly (uh oh is the only thing he can say apart from ‘MEOW’). We should’ve hopped back into our car and drove away but he already saw us and to avoid any potential conflict we made our way to the restaurant.
Thankfully the lady never stepped out of her car, if anything she didn’t look the very least intimidated by the man. Fortunately, after the lady left there were no further incidents. What a crazy morning!
Subscribe to 3CatsFoodie’s FREE Newsletter
For the latest recipes and other fun stuff!
Something smells fishy!
We are certainly blessed with choice when it comes to fish as we have so many varieties to choose from. My fish and seafood knowledge expanded when I worked part-time at a fish market store during my Uni days. This was the worst job I ever had, thanks to our awful boss and smelling like stinky fish for days after each shift.
At least I could identify many sea creatures from swordfish to sardines and oysters to vongole!
The fish I love cooking and eating are Salmon, Barramundi, Blue-eye Cod and Perch. I buy frozen fish as it’s more affordable but if I won the lottery I would be only eating fresh fish. The difference in taste and texture is very noticeable. Fresh fish has no ‘fishy’ taste or smell and the flesh is firm but still melts in your mouth!
You could probably use any fish you like to make this Parmesan Panko Crusted Fish and it’ll be delicious. However, I highly recommend buying fresh boneless and skinless fish fillets (steak) that weigh approximately between 200-250 gms (7-9oz) each. Your fishmonger should be happy to remove the skin and debone the fish fillets for you.
It’s best to remove the skin which I usually do but when I baked it this time I left it on to see how it tasted. Ugh, BIG FAIL! it wasn’t pleasant to eat at all, so rubbery!
More tasty fish dishes to try:
Impressive Salmon Wellington
Fish with Pineapple Salsa
Chinese steamed fish
Salmon In Creamy Lemon Sauce
Ingredients for Parmesan Panko Crusted Fish
Fish fillets – I used Barramundi fillets but any other fish fillets such as Salmon, Blue-eye cod or kingfish can be used. The fillets should weigh between 200-250 gms (7-9oz). Get your fishmonger to remove the skin and any bones for you.
Japanese Panko bread crumbs are lighter and flakier than Western-style breadcrumbs, it absorbs less oil and is crispier in texture. Panko can be found in most supermarkets and in Asian specialty shops.
Fresh Parmesan cheese can be found in the chilled section of the supermarket. Parmesan is best bought in a block and grated when needed, however, for convenience you can also buy it shredded.
How to make Parmesan Panko Crusted Fish
Step-by-step guide with photos
Preheat oven to 200°C (390°F) or 180°C (360°F) for fan-forced ovens. Save cleaning up time by lining a tray with non-stick baking paper with foil on top. If possible use an ovenproof rack to elevate the fillets, this will help the fish bake evenly on both sides in the oven.
Remove the skin of the fillets and pat dry with paper towels. Mix the salt, garlic and mustard powder in a bowl and rub it all over the fillets.
Mix together panko, lemon zest, parsley and parmesan cheese and olive oil in a bowl.
Place the fish fillets skin side down and spoon on the panko and parmesan mixture on top. Use fingers to gently press the mixture onto the fillets.
Bake the fish for 15 to 18 minutes or until the fish is cooked through and the top is nice and golden. Serve with steamed vegetables or salad.
I’ve used a third-party application to calculate the calories and nutritional information, so please use this as an approximate guide only.
Cooking measurements are in Australian standard spoon and cup measurements. For specific details and conversions, visit our Australian Cooking Measurements page.
I would love your feedback and support if you made this recipe. To do this, please rate this recipe and provide a comment by scrolling down this page or by clicking that green circle on the bottom left. An email address is required (for spam), but it won’t be published. I would also love to see your dish, so don’t forget to tag me on my Instagram account ‘3catsfoodie’
Cheers – Cat T
Parmesan Panko Crusted Fish
Ingredients
- 2 fish fillets (250gm/9oz skinned and deboned) (NOTE 1)
- ¼ cup Panko bread crumbs (NOTE 2)
- 3 tbsp parmesan cheese (freshly grated) (NOTE 3)
- 1 tbsp flat leaf parsley (finely chopped)
- ½ tsp lemon zest (finely grated)
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ¼ tsp mustard powder
- 2 tsp olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200°C (390°F) or 180°C (360°F) for fan-forced ovens. Save cleaning up time by lining a tray with non-stick baking paper with foil on top. If possible use an ovenproof rack to elevate the fillets, this will help the fish bake evenly on both sides in the oven. Remove the skin of the fillets and pat dry with paper towels. Mix the salt, garlic and mustard powder in a bowl and rub it all over the fillets.
- Mix together panko, lemon zest, parsley and parmesan cheese and olive oil in a bowl. Place the fish fillets skin side down and spoon on the panko and parmesan mixture on top, use fingers to gently press the mixture onto the fillets.
- Bake the fish for 15 to 18 minutes or until the fish is cooked through and the top is nice and golden. Serve with steamed vegetables or salad.
