Blackened tilapia with cilantro lime rice
Spicy, smoky tilapia with a dark crisp crust over fluffy cilantro lime rice, a restaurant-style plate that costs very little.
- 35 min total
- 20 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 4
- About $2.49 a serving
- 490 calories
- Gluten-free
Dolly says: Read the steps once before you start. Everything goes smoother after that.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 1½ cups long-grain white rice, rinsed
- 1 lime, half juiced, half cut into wedges
- ¼ cup cilantro, chopped
- 2 tbsp butter, divided, 1½ tablespoons melted
- 4 tilapia fillets, thawed if frozen
From your pantry
- 2¼ cups water
- 1¼ tsp salt, divided
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp dried oregano
- ½ tsp dried thyme
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
Each serving has about 490 calories, 34 g protein, 59 g carbs and 12 g fat, and costs about $2.49 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No long-grain white rice? Jasmine rice or basmati rice works.
- No limes? Lemons work.
- No cilantro? Fresh parsley works.
- No butter? Ghee works.
- No tilapia fillets? Cod fillets work.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
Put the rice, water and ½ teaspoon of the salt in a medium and over high heat.
Saucepan. A saucepan is a pot with tall, straight sides and one long handle. It’s for things that need depth, like rice, sauces or a few boiled eggs.
How you’ll know: The food fills it about halfway, leaving room to bubble without spilling over.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
High heat
Cover, turn the heat to low and cook for 15 minutes, then leave it covered off the heat.
Low heatTimer: 15 min
the paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, thyme, cayenne, pepper and ¾ teaspoon of the salt together on a plate.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
the tilapia dry, brush both sides with the 1½ tablespoons of butter and press into the spice mix to coat.
Pat dry. Patting dry means pressing paper towels onto food to soak up the moisture on its surface. Wet food steams instead of browning, so this is how you get a good sear and crisp skin.
How you’ll know: The surface feels tacky, not wet, and the last paper towel comes away barely damp.
Melt. Melting means gently heating something solid, like butter or cheese, until it turns liquid. Low or medium heat keeps it from browning or burning.
How you’ll know: It’s smooth and liquid, and butter may foam a little but hasn’t turned brown.
Heat the oil in a large heavy over medium-high heat until it , and turn on the fan. Cook 2 fillets at a time for 2 to 3 minutes, until a dark crust forms.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Shimmering oil. Oil shimmers when it’s hot enough to cook: its surface looks rippled and wavy, like heat over a road. That’s your cue to add the food, just before the oil would start to smoke.
How you’ll know: The oil looks wavy and runs thin like water when you tilt the pan, with no smoke yet.
Medium-high heatTimer: 2 min 30 sec
Dolly’s tip: The spices turn very dark. That’s the whole point of blackening, not a mistake.Flip and cook 2 minutes more, until the fish is opaque and flakes easily. Repeat with the rest.
Medium-high heatTimer: 2 min
Food safety: Fish is done at 145°F, when the middle looks opaque and flakes apart easily with a fork.
Fluff the rice with the rest of the butter, the lime juice and the cilantro.
Serve the tilapia over the rice with lime wedges.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
