AI-generated image
Koryushka
Koryushka (корюшка): St Petersburg spring smelt, cleaned, floured and fried until crisp
When the ice breaks on the Neva in April and May, St Petersburg goes mad for koryushka, small silvery smelt that famously smell of fresh cucumber. Stalls sell them by the kilo, the city holds a smelt festival, and every cafe fries them by the plateful. Dusted in flour and fried in hot sunflower oil, they come out golden and crunchy outside, sweet and tender inside, eaten with fingers, soft bones and all, with lemon and boiled potatoes with dill. A common mistake is crowding the pan, which drops the oil temperature and leaves the fish soggy; fry in small batches. Fish is done when the flesh is opaque and flakes easily from the backbone. Frozen smelt or sprats work out of season. Chef's tip: rye flour gives a darker, nuttier crust, a favourite in Petersburg homes.
- Total time
- 25 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepperground
- 2 ⅞ oz rye or plain flour
- ¾ cup sunflower oilfor frying
- 1 lemoncut into wedges
- ⅛ oz fresh dill (optional)chopped
Shop this recipe on Amazon
Spices & pantry
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Rinse the 1 ¾ lb smelt, cleaned, gutted and heads removed in cold water and pat completely dry with paper towels. Season with the 1 tsp salt and ½ tsp black pepper.
4 minStep 2: Toss the fish in the 2 ⅞ oz rye or plain flour on a plate and shake off the excess.
3 minStep 3: Heat the ¾ cup sunflower oil in a wide frying pan over a medium-high heat until a pinch of flour sizzles immediately.
3 minStep 4: Fry the smelt in a single layer in batches for 2–3 minutes per side, until deep golden and crisp, and the flesh is opaque and flakes easily from the backbone.
12 minStep 5: Drain on paper towels and serve hot with 1 lemon and ⅛ oz fresh dill.
1 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 390 kcal
- Protein
- 30 g
- Carbs
- 15 g
- Fat
- 23 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does koryushka take?
- About 25 minutes in total: 10 minutes to prepare and 15 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- What can I use instead of rye or plain flour?
- Self-raising flour, same amount (then leave out the baking powder).
- What can I use instead of lemon?
- Lime, or 2 tbsp bottled lemon juice per lemon (no zest from bottled juice).
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Singapore chilli crab
Chilli crab was first sold from a pushcart on the Kallang river in the 1950s and is now the dish visitors queue for along Singapore's East Coast seafood strip. Big mud crabs are cut up, wok-fried and simmered in a thick, sweet, tangy and gently hot sauce of chilli, tomato and garlic, which is then silked with beaten egg. Everyone eats with their hands and mops up the sauce with fried or steamed mantou buns. It is a weekend or celebration meal, messy and loud. Buy crabs live or freshly cooked the same day from a fishmonger you trust. Discard any live crab that doesn't move, smells of ammonia or has a cracked, leaking shell. The common mistake is boiling the sauce after adding the egg, which scrambles it into lumps; pour it in a thin stream over a low heat. Chef's tip: ask the fishmonger to clean and quarter the crab for you, and crack each claw lightly with the back of a cleaver so the sauce soaks in.
Singaporean
Rhode Island clam cakes
At beach shacks along Narragansett Bay and in Galilee, clam cakes are bought by the paper bag, half a dozen at a time, to dunk in a cup of clear clam chowder. They are not patties but craggy, golden fritters, crisp outside and soft inside, studded with chopped quahog clams. Chef's tip: use the clam juice as part of the liquid; it puts the sea flavour into every bite of batter.
American
Tunisian octopus salad
Fishermen of the Kerkennah islands, off Sfax, still catch octopus in clay pots laid on the shallow seabed, and in winter the season's catch turns up in harbour cafés and home kitchens as this simple salad. The octopus is simmered slowly until tender, cooled in its broth, then sliced and tossed with red onion, plenty of parsley, lemon juice and good olive oil, with a little harissa if you like. It is light, clean and briny, eaten as a starter with bread or on a summer table of salads and grilled fish. Buy octopus from a reputable fishmonger; frozen and thawed octopus is often more tender than fresh. A common mistake is boiling the octopus at a rolling boil, which makes it rubbery; keep it at a gentle simmer until a knife slides in easily. Chef's tip: let the cooked octopus cool in its cooking liquid for 20 minutes before slicing; it stays juicy rather than tightening up.
Tunisian