School's out and the kids are home.  You have a few camps and a vacation planned, but they still seem to have some time on their hands.  Well, why not get them to work making dinner or a super lunch for themselves?   When I was growing up, our family had fish sticks for dinner on many a Friday night.  These were usually the store-bought frozen kind.  Mom would also, on occasion, bread and deep fry cod or flounder fillets defrosted from one pound packages of fish.  Someone would also make a sauce for the fish sticks - just a quick combo of mayonnaise and ketchup (we called it glop) that was mostly mayo and light pink in color after adding the ketchup.  We loved them.

These days, as a seafood consumer educator, I have often been asked for kid friendly recipes.  Here is a recipe for making what I call fish sticks from scratch.  This recipe does not require any deep frying or lots of oil.  A light spray of oil on a non-stick pan is all you need.  You can even use a simple shake and bake type routine.  First, coat all the fish sticks in the egg white mixture. Next, put the crumb mixture in a plastic bag that you can easily keep closed, add the egg coated fish and shake.  Lift the breaded fish out with tongs, shake off the excess coating and place on your cookie sheet.  You can choose from a variety of fish filets including tilapia, catfish, grouper, cod, hake, pollock, or flounder.  Or if there is a place to catch your own - I bet the kids would be excited about being able to catch - cook - and then eat their bounty. 

Oven-Fried Seafood Sticks

• 1-1/4 pounds fish fillets
• 1 egg white
• 1 tablespoon prepared mustard (optional)
• 1 tablespoon water    
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1/8 teaspoon ground white pepper
• 2 ounces sharp cheddar cheese (optional)

Cut fish fillets into equal sticks.  In a shallow bowl, whisk together egg white, prepared mustard, and water with a fork until thoroughly blended.

In another shallow bowl, mix together bread crumbs, dry mustard, and pepper.

Coat a baking sheet with vegetable cooking spray.  Dip fish sticks into egg white/mustard mixture and coat on all sides, then dredge in seasoned bread crumbs, coating evenly.  Place on prepared baking sheet and bake in a 450 F oven for 6 minutes.  Turn sticks over and continue baking for 4 minutes.  

Remove sticks to a serving platter.  Quickly sprinkle cheddar over tops of fish sticks and serve immediately, with lemon wedge, if desired.

*Choose fish fillets such as tilapia, catfish, grouper, cod, hake, pollock, or flounder.

About the Fishmonger

Doris Hicks, Seafood Technology Specialist, This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

As seafood specialist, for the University of Delaware Sea Grant Marine Advisory Service, Hicks works with both the seafood industry and consumers to develop educational programs about the proper way to handle, store, and prepare finfish and shellfish.  In addition to these outreach efforts, Hicks serves as a seafood safety instructor, providing training programs to seafood processors throughout the region. She also has conducted research with University of Delaware colleagues to explore new technologies for pasteurizing seafood.  Hicks received her bachelor's degree in food science from Rutgers University and her master's degree in food science and human nutrition from the University of Delaware.