Coconut Crusted Cod With Asian-Inspired Sauce

Mmm. Cod seasoned with Dan-O’s and lemon juice, coated in coconut. With a salty, slightly spicy honey and pickled Chinese chili sauce. That’s the good stuff. This Coconut crusted cod recipe has some sweetness, a mild fishy flavor, citrus, the wonderful flavor of Dan-O’s; and a salty, sweet, and spicy sauce. Not much more you can ask for!

To start, make sure you are getting good, sturdy pieces of cod for this recipe. If you use frozen cod, odds are it will be falling apart by the time you thaw it out. If it’s falling apart then, you’ll surely have trouble getting them in the eggs, coated with coconut, and in the pan. Also, be careful! Don’t overhandle. I broke one of my pieces of cod in the pan so that was a bummer. You could do this in the oven to be safe. But pan-frying gave a nice crispy coating.

For the sauce, I went with pickled Chinese chilis, soy sauce, and a handful of other complimentary ingredients. These included ginger, garlic, green onion, honey, and lemon. To save time, I used ginger out of a tube and pre-minced garlic. But you can go all out and dice these yourself if you want. I used maybe a tsp of Dan-O’s in the sauce, but you could use more.

The cod only needed a few minutes per side in the pan in about a quarter-inch of oil. If you’re going in the oven, you’ll probably need to cook for about 10 minutes at 350. Just make sure you are cooking to the USDA recommended internal temperature. The coconut can give you a good crust, but it can burn so don’t overcook.

Serve with a ginger salad. Spoon sauce over fish while you eat. Enjoy!

Enjoyed this paleo-friendly recipe? Make sure to try some of our other favorite paleo recipes.