Fried Spiced Perch with Garlic Shrimps and Mushrooms

I remember how much I love spending most of my weekends at the beach with my family when I was young. Playing in the beach with my brother was so much fun for me. We loved to build huge sand castles, play tag or simply lay down on the sand. We also enjoy riding on our big inflatable tubes and let the waves drift us away from the shore.

But aside from all those, there's one more thing that I like about spending time at the beach. Can you guess what it is??? Well, it's being able to eat grilled fish that was freshly caught by the local fishermen. You see, the beach where we usually went to is very rich in marine resources and lots of fishermen go fishing there. During early morning, you can find fishermen unloading their catch on the shore, and my father would always buy from them.

Though fresh seafood are always available in the nearby wet market, nothing is fresher than a wriggling fish dumped in a grill. Even with just salt sprinkled on it, it's so tasty...and my brother and I enjoyed it so much!
Being able to experience how delicious fresh seafood are from an early age is the reason why I grew up being a seafood lover...and I'm glad that I did. Seafood  are not only delicious and versatile, they are also excellent sources of protein, vitamins and minerals with no saturated fats that we can get from eating most meats. I'm happy that just like me and Ryan, both our girls love them too.

This dish that I am sharing with you today is one of the seafood dishes that my daughters love much! It is a combination of ocean perch (which is not common in the Philippines), shrimps and their favorite mushrooms. Ocean Perch which is sometimes called redfish has a sweet, mild flavor and light-colored flesh that's quite tender and can be used in any recipe that calls for a white fleshed fish. We love it fried, grilled or baked.

Perch has a very delicate taste that you'll love even more with the addition of your favorite spices. As for me, I find garlic powder, paprika, basil and lemon pepper to work well on it. The fried perch alone would be good enough, but since the pack of perch that I usually buy has only 4-5 small-sized fillets in it, I love serving it this way, i.e., with garlic shrimps and mushrooms. :)

Ingredients:
*Serves 4

• 1 lb perch fillet or any fish of your choice
• 12 pcs. medium-sized shrimp, peeled
• 1 cup button mushrooms, sliced
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1 tsp lemon pepper
• 2 Tbsp ginger minced
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 Tbsp light olive oil
• salt and pepper

Procedure:

1. Sprinkle fish fillet with salt, half of the paprika, half of the garlic powder, basil and lemon pepper. Let sit for at least 15 minutes.

2. In a pan over medium heat, fry perch in olive oil until cooked on both sides. Remove from pan and set aside.

3. In the same pan, saute garlic and ginger until light brown. Add mushrooms and saute until cooked. Add shrimps and saute just until they turned light pink. Add the remaining garlic powder and paprika then sprinkle with salt and pepper to suit your taste. 

 

4. Remove from heat. Arrange in a serving platter with the fried perch. Serve hot with rice.