Perfect for snacking. Plus, they are indistinguishable from deep-fried cutlets in terms of taste, texture and appearance! For a vegan alternative, you can make these jackfruit cutlets (jackfruit croquettes). One of my favorite snacks in the world is the Sri Lankan Fish Cutlet! I’ve talked a lot about it and shared the recipe for classic Sri Lankan fish cutlets on the blog before. Fish cutlets are a quintessential Sri Lankan snack, with some epic Sri Lankan flavors. It’s both a snack and comfort food rolled (literally!) into one, for me.
Sri Lankan fish cutlets
Just like Sri Lankan Chinese rolls or these fried cheese balls, classic Sri Lankan fish cutlets are deep fried. There’s no two ways about it, that’s how we always made ’em, and that’s how you get them to be addictively crunchy with that flavorful crust. BUT, I had received a number of requests from my readers asking if I could BAKE fish cutlets instead of deep-frying for a healthier way to make this tasty snack. I took it up as a challenge and wanted to find out the BEST way to make baked fish cutlets (baked fish croquettes). Several attempts later, here we are! 🙂 When deep-fried, fish cutlets become evenly crispy, with a uniform, dark crust. The problem with traditional baked fish cutlets (fish croquettes) is that they lack that beautiful outer shell, plus they generally taste bland and awful. But never again! I came up with a foolproof way to make baked fish cutlets (or any kind of cutlet), with that same addictive, crunchy shell! Plus, they are almost indistinguishable from deep-fried cutlets in terms of taste, texture and appearance! So yes, I guarantee that these really are the BEST baked fish cutlets (baked fish croquettes) around! 🙂
What I love about these baked fish cutlets
Just like deep fried cutlets, these baked fish cutlets look evenly fried. The shell is crispy and evenly browned. To achieve this, the breadcrumbs are first pan fried until they are nice and toasted, with a VERY LITTLE amount of oil. They are obviously a healthier alternative to deep-fried cutlets. They taste just as good as the fried version! If you taste this baked version and fried fish cutlets side by side (which I’ve done), there’ll be a SLIGHT difference in the crunch-factor, but it’s surprisingly minimal.
Recipe tips to make the best baked fish cutlets (baked fish croquettes)
I find that it’s easier to shape the cutlets into a flatter shape, so that they are easier to bake (and more stable) on a baking tray. So I shaped these cutlets into flat discs rather than balls. Remember the hot tray also helps create that addictive crust/shell, so creating a larger surface area (which you get with a flatter shape) is recommended. Use regular breadcrumbs, NEVER use panko crumbs. It’s harder to create a smooth crust with panko, because they are larger than regular breadcrumbs. So regular breadcrumbs will give you a nice, even, smooth shell which also helps prevent cracks in the shell when they are baking. Use a little vegetable oil to “dry fry” the breadcrumbs. By pre-toasting the breadcrumbs, you achieve two things. Uniformly “fried” cutlets. No more patchy caramelization in the oven. The pre-toasted crumbs make the cutlets look like they’ve been fried. You add an additional crunch element. The problem with traditional baked cutlets is that the surface doesn’t become uniformly crispy. You end up with alternating crunchy and soggy patches. Pre-toasting the crumbs resolves this issue. Double coating will result in an even crispier coating. Double coating fish cutlets isn’t necessary. However, I ALWAYS preferred double coating (or triple coating) cutlets for a thicker and crunchier shell! You can still get great results coating your cutlets just once, but I personally like ’em more with an extra coating! Leftovers must be reheated. This is the only place where classic fried cutlets and my baked cutlets differ. I find that with these baked cutlets, the crust tended to be slightly staler on the following day. However, reheating them for a little bit in the oven, made them just as delicious and fresh as before!
This technique applies to ALL kinds of Sri Lankan cutlets (or croquettes). Fish cutlets, chicken cutlets, vegetarian cutlets (potato cutlets), beef cutlets, or any other kind of cutlet/croquette can be transformed into baked cutlets (baked croquettes) by following these steps! So give it a try and let me know how you guys like ’em! 🙂 Have you tried baked cutlets/croquettes before? If you liked this baked fish cutlets (baked fish croquettes) recipe, don’t forget to subscribe for new (and free) recipes by entering your email address on the side bar (and get all these recipes delivered straight to your inbox), so you don’t miss out on a thing. You can find me on FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM, PINTEREST, YOU TUBE and GOOGLE-PLUS too.
