Crispy Fried Fish Sandwich with Spicy Tartar Sauce Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Crispy Fried Fish Sandwich with Spicy Tartar Sauce Recipe

Sink your teeth into Crispy Fried Fish Sandwiches! An easy and delicious recipe that is festive enough for Game Days and easy enough for weeknight dinner. For a super crispy coating, dredge in Panko Japanese bread crumbs. They are lighter and fluffier than regular breadcrumbs. Finish with a spicy homemade tartar sauce and plenty of crisp green cabbage. Sandwich between soft brioche buns for the ultimate fish sandwich recipe!

Prep Time20

Cook Time10

Course: Dinner, Lunch, Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Fried Fish, Sandwich

Servings:

Calories: 819kcal

Author: Lis Lam

Equipment

Cast Iron Dutch Oven
Cooling rack
sheet pan

Ingredients

For Dredging:

4 white fish fillets (any kind works but tilapia is pictured)
4 Tbsp Cajun seasoning (1 Tbsp for each fish filet)
2 eggs (large), beaten well
1/2 cup potato starch
1 cup panko bread crumbs (plus a little bit more for the last fish filet)

For Serving:

1 1/2 cups green cabbage, finely shredded
4 buns
4 Tbsp softened (room temperature) butter

Spicy Tartar Sauce

1/2 cup mayo (I use Kewpie)
2 Tbsp capers, drained and chopped
1/2 shallot, chopped (about 2 Tbsp)
2 tsp sriracha (or more, if you like things spicier)

Instructions

Make Spicy Tartar Sauce. In a small bowl, mix together mayonnaise, sriracha, shallot, and capers. Set aside.
Prep buns and cabbage. Finely shred cabbage. Set aside. Butter and toast the buns. Set aside.
Prep fish. If the fish is large, cut into appropriate sizes for sandwich portions. Pat dry before breading. Sprinkle Cajun seasoning over the fish filets, making sure to coat both sides. Rub about 1 Tbsp per fish filet.
Dredge fish. To bread the fish fillets with a crispy coating, set up a dredging station: one bowl for potato starch, one bowl for beaten eggs, one bowl for panko bread crumbs. Coat seasoned fish with potato starch, then dip into egg wash, and finally coat with panko bread crumbs. Press the panko into the fish.
Fry until golden and crispy. Choose deep frying or shallow frying for the cooking method.
To deep fry: In a cast iron Dutch oven, attach a candy thermometer and 1-2 inches of oil. (I use grapeseed oil but peanut, vegetable, or canola oil all work well). Heat on medium heat and wait for thermometer to reach 350F.
When the thermometer reaches 350F, carefully add fish filets. Make sure not to overcrowd the pan. Deep fry in batches until crispy and cooked through, about 2-3 minutes for each fish filet. Transfer to a cooling rack arranged over a sheet pan, to keep the fish crispy.
Assemble the sandwiches. Add spicy tartar sauce to the bottom bun. Add fried fish, then a handful of shredded cabbage. Dollop more spicy tartar sauce to the top bun and place on top. Repeat for all sandwiches. Enjoy immediately!

Notes

*Feel fee to double the fish filets for big eaters.

**If you don't have Cajun seasoning, a less spicy substitute is salt, pepper, and smoked paprika. Sprinkle paprika to coat fish, about 1 tsp per fish filet.

***Leftover fish can be reheated in an Air Fryer (380F for 5 minutes) or in a 400F oven until crispy!

Nutrition