RAMEN-CRUSTED SKATE

Pg. 74 – Lucky Peach Issue #1

Okay, in case you’re not a fish expert, Skate is a cartilaginous fish that has pretty cool wings. I headed to McCall’s again to fetch a pair of very nice skate wing filets for this recipe, which I think is the last of the instant ramen recipes in the Ramen issue. From here on out, I’m making real alkaline noodles for ramen and chicken soup, cavatelli, and then there’s an egg-stravanganza at the end of the issue that is sure to give me back the high cholesterol I beat a few years ago by eating oatmeal everyday.

Dave Chang kicks his own ass about this recipe by saying that this was “probably the most obvious and laziest of my instant-ramen fuckarounds for this issue.” It is very simple to make and I can see how the idea was pretty practical to try. What’s crazy is we do use the instant ramen seasoning packet in the crust, so you can imagine how unhealthy this dish must be – if we actually knew what was in that fucking seasoning packet anyway. But those mystery granules sure do add a lot of flavor!

I really didn’t want to start listing ingredients because I’m lazy, but this can work right?

Put the ramen in your food processor and make a powder with it – and stir in the seasoning packet filled with MSG and magical Japanese goodness! Then you gotta make a breading station – get some plates or shallow bowls and put the flour on one, beat the eggs and put them in one, and then ramen powder. Dredge the skate in that order and seriously mound the ramen powder all over the filet to coat the sucker.

So, grapeseed oil is actually used often for high heat cooking because it can really withstand the temperature. It has a smoking point of 421 degrees F! It’s ideal for deep-frying, kids. Heat up your skillet and add the grapeseed oil and even though we’re cooking at home and don’t have an awesome commercial range that will really get the pan as hot as we wish it could get, we try our best and fry up the skate filets. After one minute on the first side add all that butter to the pan, and then baste that melted goodness all over it as it cooks.

Just watch the skate and flip it, it’ll cook fast. Then take it out, set it aside and cook the butter lettuce in that same pan, with the juices left from the skate. Squeeze some lemon and add some sea salt and you’re solid.

Yes, that’s a rather gratuitous shot, but Sharon reminded me that I should be in this blog too, so look at what you can get for just checking out this site. You pig.

This dish is really really tasty. We loved it and will make it again for sure. It’s seriously easy and fast to make, though the damn breading station makes more dishes than I like to wash (let’s get this straight, I actually do not like to wash any dishes).