Do you like a good fish fry? And by fish fry, I mean shrimp, too. And some fries and some kind of dipping sauce. And those pickled red onions. All of it.

This particular meal was inspired by our trip to Aruba last June. I was hoping to find something uniquely “Aruban”, but honestly, it’s hard to tell what’s Aruban and what’s the result of centuries of European colonization and migration from South America and other Caribbean islands. It’s a very multicultural country!

I can’t even with the beaches in Aruba. Probably the most gorgeous place I’ve ever seen.

No color tweaking in that photo either.

We ate at a place called Zeerover (Dutch for “pirate” — Aruba is part of the Netherlands.)

We stood in line FOREVER outside to get in, but it was well worth the wait.

You sit right on the water, too!

Ordering at Zeerover is pretty easy because they only sell a handful of things. You tell them how many pounds of shrimp and the fresh caught fish of the day (it was snapper for us) and what sides.

Then they bring out all these baskets of freshly fried goodies. We got shrimp, snapper, fries, red onions, garlic aioli, fried plantains, and “cornbread” which was more of a cornmeal-based pancake.

The snapper was still on the bone and the shrimp still had heads and feet — a good experience for the kids. Heh.

This fish fry was by far my most favorite meal we ate in Aruba. And I was determined to recreate it when I came home!

Because I value peaceful mealtimes, I chose peeled shrimp (without heads and feet) and cod fillets for our fish fry.

This meal is super adaptable, too. If you don’t want to bread and fry your fish and seafood, just grill them or saute them on the stove. Easy.

I used my Paleo Fish Nugget recipe which all my kids like.

I always let the fish/shrimp sit out on the counter for a few minutes sprinkled with salt and lemon juice. I’m convinced this makes it more flavorful, but I haven’t done any randomized double-blind trials.

Breading and frying fish (or anything) can be a big, giant mess. Here are a few tips to make it easier and ensure that the breading actually stays on!

Tips for Breading & Pan-Frying Fish

1. Keep a dry hand and a wet hand. Use one hand for dipping the fish in egg and one hand for covering it in breading. Otherwise you’re going to end up with giant breaded mitts for hands.
2. Shake off the excess. Shake off excess egg before dipping the fish into the breading. And shake off excess breading before adding the fish to the hot oil. This will keep your breading cleaner and there will be less flour floating around in your oil burning.
3. MAKE SURE YOUR OIL IS HOT. This is by far the most important step to ensure this all goes smoothly. If your oil is hot enough it means the chances of the fish sticking to the pan is slim. I use a stainless pan when I do this, too. The oil should “shimmer” which means you’ll be able to see little waves moving around. And if you flick a few drops of water into the oil it should pop and sizzle quite a bit.
4. Don’t move your fish for at least 2-3 minutes after putting it in the oil. Resist the urge to play with it. Trust me. During those first few minutes, the crust is forming which will make it easier to flip.
5. Try to only flip it once or twice. The more you flip and move it around, the more breading might come off.

Another great tips is to use a cooling rack over a sheet pan for draining/cooling. A stack of paper towels is a popular method, but the food is sitting on the soggy paper towels, so guess what happens in a few minutes?

Yep. Soggytown.

If I need to keep things warm, I just put this sheet pan in the oven on a warming setting while I prep the rest of the meal.

The garlic sauce in Aruba was like a herby-garlic aioli. An interesting choice since tartar sauce is usually the dipper of choice for fish and seafood.

I really loved this! You can dip fries in it, too. Or put it on anything you’d put mayonnaise on.

I included this in the recipe below.

The last component to create this bite of perfection? Pickled red onions.

Seriously make them. I just posted a recipe for them, too — Pickled Red Onoins.

They only take about 15 minutes of prep and you can make them days ahead!

This meal can either take forever or can be relatively quick — like under an hour. Here are a few ways to adapt it to save you time!

Fish Fry Adaptations

• Get pre-breaded shrimp & cod fillets and pop them in the oven. I’ve seen more gluten-free versions pop up — Trader Joe’s has some, I believe.
• Don’t fry anything! Just saute the shrimp & fish in a pan with butter/oil and a little garlic.
• Try different kinds of fish — halibut, rockfish, Dover sole, & snapper are great alternatives to cod.
• Serve them with roasted vegetables instead of fries or add a salad kit for some greens.

More White Fish Recipes on Perry’s Plate

I love fish. A lot. Here are a few of my favorite ways to cook white fish!

This Grilled Sablefish with Garlic-Herb Oil can be made with any white fish or even salmon! Sablefish (aka Black Cod) is SUPER good, so I highly recommend using it if you can find it. My kids call it “butter fish”.

I love this Quick Thai Fish Curry & Coconut Rice on a busy weeknight.

I make Chile-Lime Fish Taco Bowls SO often. And it’s fairly adaptable, so you can use what you have on hand to make it quicker and easier!

This one is an oldie, but still a fan favorite — Baked Fish with Lemon-Basil Pesto.

Have you ever tried fish “en papillote”? Baking fish in a parchment packet makes it extra moist and delicious! Here’s my version: Easy Fish en Papillote.

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If you make one of my recipes, be sure to post it on social media and tag me at @perrysplate or #perrysplate so I can send you some love!