Cooking seafood
Cooking New Zealand seafood is easy! Here’s a quick guide to cooking New Zealand seafood, and step-by-step cooking instructions for different seafood cooking methods.
Your quick guide to cooking seafood
| Method | Temperature | Hints |
|---|---|---|
| Bake | 180-200°C | You can use a sauce or marinade — but remember: fish are highly absorbent, so milder flavours are preferable to stronger ones |
| Bake in foil | 180-200°C | Use a liquid, stock or wine if baking in an open foil package, but no extra liquid is necessary if the foil is closed |
| Pan-fry | Medium heat | Cook in butter and olive oil (50/50). To keep the fish moist, seal sides of fillets first in a fry pan for 30 seconds each side |
| Grilling | Medium heat | For whole fish or thick fillets |
| Microwave | 3/4 power for 1-5 minutes | Cover with tomatoes, lemons, or oranges, or steam in a container with a lid (or on a plate with another plate placed upside down over the top) |
| Steaming | Boiling Point | Put vegetables with fish |
| Poaching | Very hot but not boiling | Perfect for weight watchers. Poach in stock or water and add herbs for flavour |
Step-by-Step seafood cooking guide
Cook fillets of equal thickness. Trim fillets of fish to equal size and thickness before you begin to cook. This makes it easier to work out the right cooking time.
Choose your cooking method according to the fish or shellfish you have and what your recipe recommends. Then follow our simple, step-by-step instructions and recommended cooking times.
Remember fish cooks very quickly and loses its natural juiciness if you cook it for too long.
To find out how long to cook a fish, measure how thick it is at its thickest part, then use the cooking times we give on the following pages: