Lemon Pepper Swai

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Today has been a very lazy Sunday! I have assignments piled up on my desk that I have yet to get to (its already 4:30pm) and I slept in until past 11am this morning (haven’t done that in FOREVER!). Remember last week when I said I wanted to try and make something special every Sunday? This is what I made: pan fried lemon pepper Swai fish. I never get tired of it and it comes out crispy and delicious every time. My favorite side dishes are these roasted garlic rosemary potatoes and creamed spinach. This fish recipe is really fast too-once you have defrosted the frozen Swai, it takes less than 10 minutes to prepare them for your gourmet Sunday lunch or dinner.

4.7 from 10 reviews
Lemon Pepper Swai
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total
 
Type: Main
Serves: 2
Ingredients
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 2 frozen Swai fillets, defrosted
  • ¼ cup all-purpose flour
  • 4 tsp lemon pepper seasoning
  • 1 tsp lemon juice (optional)
Instructions
  1. Wash fish fillets and pat dry with a paper towel. It is important that most of the water is patted out.
  2. Melt 1 tbsp butter in a large skillet (preferably nonstick!) over medium-high heat.
  3. In the meantime, brush flour over both sides of the fish on a plate.
  4. Season one side of each filet with lemon pepper and quickly flip them lemon pepper side down onto the skillet. Work quickly to ensure the butter does not burn, but stays hot enough.
  5. Season the top of the filets with lemon pepper and sprinkle lemon juice over them.
  6. Fry each side about 4 minutes on high heat.
  7. Fish will be opaque when done, and easily flaked with the spatula. The sides should both look golden and crispy.
Makes 2 fillets

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47 comments

    • Sandra says:

      I just cooked it for dinner. It’s a type of catfish from Vietnam. Very light like Dover some and no fishy taste at all. I tried lemon pepper receipt and it was perfect. Will do many more times as I bought s bag of frozen filets at Aldo. So good!!

  1. sarah says:

    Just tried this Swai Fish recipe and I really enjoyed it. Thank you for taking the time to tell us about it.

  2. Louise says:

    Just bought frozen swai last week and came looking for a recipe when I stumbled on your website. This dish was simple, easy to prepare and cook, and tasted fantastic! I served the swai with garlic couscous which went really well with it. Thank you! I’ll be bookmarking your website so I can come back and make more of your tasty dishes 🙂

  3. Gilbert says:

    That looks so tasty! Too bad mine didn’t turn out so great… Oh well :p it tasted pretty good for my first time cooking for reals 😀

  4. Laura says:

    Yummy! I did not know what Swai was but I bought it anyway. Now I know what it is and will definitely buy it again. This recipe was delicious! My whole family loved it!!!!! Thank you!

  5. Tina says:

    Will be making this today! I’m not a ‘fish lover’ but I started eating swai about 2 weeks ago and just can’t get enough!

  6. Geoff says:

    Trader Joe’s didn’t my favorite, orange roughy, but I decided to try swai fillets instead on the recommendation of one of the employees. I’ll be using your recipe which is incredibly easy but looks delicious. What do you think of pouring a little white wine over it in lieu of the lemon juice or in addition to it? thanks!

  7. alan says:

    I was looking in the bottom of our chest freezer for some bacon when I happened upon the frozen swai fillets. Examining the package I thought “what the hell are buying farmed fish from Vietman for”. Decided I needed a recipe so chose yours. Looked easy enough. We shall see. Thanks

  8. roni says:

    OMG! How can something so simple be so GOOD! I have tried several recipes for this fish but this is by far the simplest and the best. Thanks for sharing.

  9. veronica says:

    I have a giant bag of swai fish that I just defrosted and honestly I had no clue what it taste like…however I heard its similar to catfish which I happen to love… this recipe sounds delish and easy to do…thanks I’m gonna try it today!!

  10. kayla says:

    Ive been looking for swai recipes. I loved yours. So good. Im definitely making it for my husbandvwhenever he comes home! I tried making the potatoes. But the burned and they were way too salty. The burning was my ovens fault. The salt, maybe i accidently put too much. Ill be more careful next time 🙂

  11. tim says:

    i’m just starting to learn how to cook and for whatever overly-ambitious reason i decided to try this one out… except i ran into one major problem. when i tried to flip the fish over, the flour/lemon/pepper would rip right off the fish and stick to the pan like some kind of weird crepe and i would be left with a naked fish. any suggestions as to how to make the stuff stay on the fish? i also substituted grapeseed oil for the butter since we don’t stock butter at home, if that matters (it probably does…). thanks!

    • Kristianne says:

      Hi Tim!

      I am sorry you had this problem 🙁 You definitely need a greased pan for the skin to stay on…maybe the Grapeseed oil did not grease the pan well enough. I also find that if I use a stainless steel or cast iron pan, the skin sticks to the pan… Try to use a nonstick skillet, or grease it very well with vegetable oil. Hope that helps!

      • tim says:

        hi kristianne!

        thanks for responding. i did use a nonstick, but i think you are spot on about the greasing. i will try more oil next time or maybe invest in some butter substitute or something. even with the mess i made it still tasted pretty good though, great recipe!

        • Virginia says:

          I found that I had to add extra butter to the pan as it was cooking, I stayed right with it since I have a bad record with skillets and burnt food..:-( but my efforts were rewarded, I thought it was delicious and my husband did, too. He ate a big piece. Definitely a keeper, and I needed a fish recipe, my collection is pretty paltry. Thank you!

  12. Fred says:

    Just ate almost a whole pound of this stuff and it’s GREAT! First time cooking swai, definitely will be again next week.5/5 for the recipe, my phone won’t let me rate it lol.

  13. Jessie VeScO says:

    5 stars!!! Yummmmmmmmy!! Was originally going to make fish tacos tonight because that is what I normally use swai fillets for. But since I was out of cilantro and I can’t have a fish taco without cilantro I decided to look online for another idea. Thank goodness I found you because this recipe is a keeper!! My family of 4 including my 6 yr old and 4 yr old absolutely loved this fish. I cooked it a little more than most would like it but I really like the crunchy well done pieces. I’m not a fish fan but swai is one fish I eat and enjoy. I suggest this recipe to any fish lover or to the non fish eater who is giving fish a try!!

  14. Anna says:

    I made this and it was delicious! I actually made it twice, once with swai and once with tilapia. Swai was the best, though. Such a simple and easy to remember recipe- I am eternally grateful! I have a food/fashion blog too, so I love seeing other, more established, blogs like yours. Keep up the great work!

  15. Rhonda Blaschke says:

    Wonderful recipe! I was tired of searching for tilapia made in the USA & just recently started buying swai. It’s a great tasting fish & I really loved this recipe…..so easy, yet so yummy! Definitely will be making it again! THANKS!
    Rhonda

  16. Jane Fuller says:

    I was looking for recipes for swai and came across your site – so glad I found you. Made this recipe and it was delicious!!! Can’t wait to try more of your recipes.

  17. RISA ABARIENTOS says:

    Hi,

    That looks delicious and I’m about to make it. But what are those green veggies in your picture and how did you make it?

  18. Sharron says:

    First time trying this fish. Great taste and cooks super fast. Your recipe was spot on. Will be checking your site for more goodies.

  19. Connie says:

    I bought a huge bag of swai fillets and this is my favorite way to eat them. So simple but so delicious!

  20. Angel says:

    My butter burned .. I don’t see how it can stay at high heat for 8 minutes without burning? Thoughts?

  21. Jenny says:

    I forgot to add the flour in the beginning and the butter ended up burning too but nonetheless it tasted fine! I’ll definitely try this again some other time, thank you so much for the recipe!!!! ??

  22. theresa heacock says:

    I tried your recipe tonight and it was a huge hit! My husband said cook that again! I followed your instructions and sprinkled some dry dill It was so delicious! I served it with steamed broccoli and carrots! Thanks so much 😊

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