How do you Panko?

[greenstate]

I am making Panko crusted tilapia. What should I use to dip the fish in, before I coat it with Panko? Any good recipes?

[pepperqueen]

We love panko on thin pork loin (or chicken breast). Pound pork loin to about 1/4", dip in seasoned flour, dip in beaten egg and then in panko. Fry in about 1/2" hot canola or corn oil until golden.

[eamcd]

One of our family favorites (including a 7- and a 10-year old) is simply baked tilapia. Tilapia in a baking dish, just lemon juice, S&P over it, then panko and a little melted butter. Bake until fish is cooked, sometimes finish under a broiler to brown a little. Simple but good!

When pan frying, the trick with panko is not to make it too wet before frying. So if you do egg, just make sure it's a thin coating before dipping in panko. I usually add some mustard or other seasoning to the egg too. And the oil should be hot enough to crisp it as it cooks. Tilapia usually fries very quickly, but can be delicate (as in falling apart when handling).

[greenstate]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I mixed mayo with some cajun seasoning and spread a thin layer on the tilapia. Then I coated it with Panko and sauteed in butter with olive oil. It was crispy and flavorful.

[Stellabobella]

Greenstate, I did just that tonight (used Old Bay in the mayo) and it was AMAZING!!! So simple, so delish!!! Thanks for the idea!!!!

[coll]

Mayonaise works well, and if you want a kick add a touch of wasabi powder.

[Val]

Mayo does work (dijon mustard does too)...and we made an Epicurious recipe last night for 3rd time for Crispy Chipotle Shrimp with Corn and Scallions whereby you coat the shrimp with mixture of mayo and chipotle in adobo (I added fresh lime juice and a little cayenne) then you coat it with the panko and roast in oven at a pretty high temp...I'd imagine it would work with tilapia too! Those shrimp come out so crunchy!

[coll]

You mentioned this recipe before and I made it. Loved it alot, although I think I'll use a little less chipotle next time, but that's just me. I kept eating them anyway. The corn part really made it.

[Val]

Yes, and it should only be fresh corn cut from the cob (a messy endeavor! does anyone have a good method for this they can share?) but the salty spicy shrimp with the sweet corn is just so good together and it's amazing how crunchy the shrimp become.

[Will Owen]

Just to make it REALLY easy, use Trader Joe's wasabi mayonnaise (if you're within TJ's shopping distance, that is). A good smear of that stuff and some panko does the job on lots of things, I've found, cooked either stovetop in a pan or in the oven.

[leanneabe]

I typically dip things in egg first, then panko. However, you could get away with just sticking the panko on the tilapia if you only coat one side. Then pan fry with the panko side down (as per MMRuth) for a couple of minutes and then flip.

An alternative to mustard would be a thin coating of mayo.

[MMRuth]

When I do this with salmon, I use mustard, but that might be a bit strong for the tilapia. When I do it, I heat oil until smoking, cook panko side down for a couple of minutes, then skin side down. Timing would differ, I think, though, for tilapia, which I think of as being thinner.