A Latin codfish fritter, this flavorful finger food is perfect for gatherings and is completely flavorful and seafood lover approved.
Ingredients
- 1 pound of salted pollock no skin or bones
- 5 cups of water
- 1 teaspoon of white vinegar
- 2 cups of all purpose flour
- ¼ cup of chopped onions
- 3 tablespoons of chopped parsley
- 3 tablespoons of chopped cilantro
- 1 tablespoon of dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon of Bijol or sazon
- 1 red bell pepper finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon of homemade sofrito optional
- 1 ½ teaspoons of baking soda
Instructions
- Rinse fish thoroughly before placing into a bowl of water. Refrigerate for 3 hours, then drain water and add fresh water. Repeat 1 more time.
- Drain water after the second 3 hour round. Place fish into a pot with 3 cups of water and vinegar. Bring water to a boil, lower heat to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes. Remove pot from heat and let water cool.
- Meanwhile, in a large bowl add in remaining ingredients, except for the water.
- Next, using a colander, drain fish into a new bowl, and reserve 1 cup of the salted fish water.
- Using your hands, shred fish as finely as desired.
- Add the 1 cup of salted water to the flour mixture, and mix together. Next, slowly add an additional cup of fresh water to the mixture. For a thinner and crispier bacalaito, add in up to another cup of fresh water. Mix together to form a pancake like batter.
- Next, fold in your fish and let batter sit for ten minutes.
- After 10 minutes, to a frying pan add in 1 ½ inches of vegetable oil for frying. Once oil is hot, ladle in ¼ cup of batter, in a long stride to create a long bacalaito.
- Fry until edges are lightly brown, and flip over. Cooking for 2-3 minutes per side, or longer for a crispier bacalaito.