Smazheni Bychky (смажені бички, fried Azov gobies)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •A wide heavy frying pan
• •A colander set over a bowl
• •A shallow bowl or paper bag for flouring
• •Tongs or a fish spatula
• •A rack set over a tray

Instructions

1. 1

   Clean the fish

   If the fishmonger has not done it, scrape the fish lightly if the scales feel rough, slit each belly, and pull out the guts. For very small gobies, leave the heads and tails on; for larger fish, remove the heads if you prefer. Rinse briefly, then stop. They need to be clean, not waterlogged.

   Small fish are eaten whole at the Azov table, bones and all. If yours are bigger than a finger and a half, fry them the same way but lift the meat off the spine as you eat.
2. 2

   Salt and dry

   Toss the cleaned fish with 1 teaspoon of the salt and set them in a colander over a bowl while they give up a little moisture. Pat them dry with kitchen paper until the skin feels tacky rather than wet. This is the step that does not forgive laziness. Dry fish fries; wet fish sulks.

3. 3

   Flour the gobies

   Mix the flour with the remaining salt, black pepper, and paprika if using. Dredge the fish a handful at a time, pressing flour into the bellies and around the fins, then shake off more than you think you should. You want a thin dusty coat, not a dumpling jacket.

   A paper bag works well here: fish in, flour in, shake, done. Very village, very effective, very little washing up.
4. 4

   Heat the oil

   Pour sunflower oil into a wide heavy pan to the depth of a little finger nail. Heat it until a pinch of flour fizzes at once and turns pale gold, but the oil is not smoking. If your unrefined green sunflower oil darkens too fast, don't be heroic; use refined sunflower oil for the frying and save the green oil for the tomato salad. Ukraine in a bottle of oil deserves to taste clean.

5. 5

   Fry in batches

   Lay the fish into the oil in one layer, away from your hand, and give them space. The sound should be busy and sharp at first, then settle into a steadier crackle as the flour cooks. Turn once when the underside is bronze and the tails have curled. They're ready when the crust is freckled brown, the fins are crisp, and the smell changes from raw flour to toasted seed and clean sea.

   Crowding is the enemy. A full pan drops the heat and the fish drink oil instead of frying in it.
6. 6

   Salt and serve

   Lift the fish onto a rack or paper-lined tray and salt them while the oil still shines on the crust. Pile them onto a big plate with dill and raw onion, if you like it, then eat immediately with dark bread and a tomato-cucumber salad dressed in green sunflower oil. Fingers are the right tool.

Chef Tips

• •Gobies are the home fish here, but smelt, sprats, whitebait, or small sardines take the method well. Choose fish small enough to cook whole and quickly.
• •The drying matters more than the exact flour mix. Flour alone is enough; a spoonful of fine cornmeal is a bit more modern and gives a rougher bite.
• •Use refined sunflower oil if your pan runs hot. Unrefined green sunflower oil is beautiful, but once it smokes hard it turns bitter, and nobody needs bitter fish.
• •Leftovers are good cold with bread and tomatoes, or re-crisped briefly in a dry pan. They will not be as loud as the first plate, so don't plan too many leftovers.

Advance Preparation

• •The fish can be cleaned, salted, and left uncovered in the fridge for up to 4 hours before frying; that dry surface helps the crust.
• •Flour the fish only just before frying. If they sit too long in flour, the coat turns pasty.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 360g)