Crispy Baked Tilapia

(Author revised on April 12, 2013)

I like a variety of white fish like snapper, halibut, and tilapia. In my opinion, tilapia happens to have a very mild taste suitable for Indonesian cooking, which normally uses a lot of spices. For readers in Indonesia, I imagine dori, gurame, or red snapper fillets would work great for this recipe.

So here’s what we’re going to need (feel free to adjust the spices to fit your preference):

• 4 Tilapia fillets (medium size)
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• ½ teaspoon of ginger powder
• 1 teaspoon of black pepper powder
• 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper powder (substitute with chili or paprika powder if you prefer it to be milder)
• A pinch of dried oregano (optional)
• 1 tablespoon of white vinegar (optional)
• 1 lemon

Steps:

• Spray or grease the oven tray with a little bit of olive oil or canola oil.
• (Optional) Mix the white vinegar with a little bit of water in a small bowl and give the fillets a quick rinse. And then rinse with water. (I do it to lessen the fishy aroma a little bit.)
• Place the fish on an oven tray.
• In a separate bowl, mix the salt, ginger, black pepper, cayenne powder.
• Heat the oven to 425 degree Fahrenheit.
• Sprinkle and coat the fish with the mixed spices. Let the fillets sit for about 10 minutes.
• Cook for 12-13 minutes.  Do a longer bake time if the fillets are bigger/thicker.
• For more crisp, turn the oven broiler (after baking) for about 3-4  minutes. Leave the oven door slightly (like 2 inches) open to avoid charring.
• When it’s done, the fish will have that light golden color and crispy texture on the outside but fluffy in the inside.
• Serve with lemon wedges on the side.

Serve 2-3 people