The queen of Southern cooking, Emmy Award®-winning chef Carla Hall joined Ming Tsai in his loft kitchen and cooked up a childhood favorite: Fried Fish Southern Style in Season 17 of Simply Ming.

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 cup fine yellow cornmeal
  • ½ cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
  • ½ teaspoon dry mustard
  • ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • Vegetable oil, for frying
  • 4 pieces white bread
  • Yellow mustard
  • 1 whole dill pickle, or ½ cup thinly sliced
  • 1 medium Vidalia or white onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 pound thin flakey white fish fillets, such as catfish, whiting, cod, or flounder

TO PREPARE

STEP 1. Mix the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, garlic powder, dry mustard, cayenne, 1 teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper in a large shallow dish.
STEP 2. Fill a large cast iron skillet with oil to a depth of ½ inch and heat over medium-high heat until hot. A pinch of cornmeal should sizzle when it hits.
STEP 3. Dredge a fish fillet in the cornmeal mixture until evenly coated. Shake off excess. Carefully lay fish in hot oil. Repeat with another fillet or two. Fish should fit comfortably without crowding.
STEP 4. Fry carefully, turning once, until golden brown, two or three minutes per side. Transfer to a wire rack to drain and cool. Repeat with remaining fish. Replenish and reheat oil between batches.
STEP 5. Place cooked fish on bread and drizzle with yellow mustard. Top with onion and pickle slices.