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Experienced Chef Reveals: The Secret to Getting Rid of Fishy Odor in Just One Step

Preparing fish can be a challenging task as not everyone knows how to get rid of its strong odor.

20 January, 2024

Tips to Quickly and Effectively Remove Fishy Odor

An experienced chef has shared a tip that not everyone knows, which is that a thread on the fish’s body can cause a fishy odor. Simply removing this thread after the fish has been gutted can significantly reduce the fishy odor.

First, after buying the fish and bringing it home, you need to clean the fish and remove the black film in the abdomen along with cleaning excess blood to reduce the fishy odor.

Once the fish has been cleaned, use a sharp knife to make a horizontal cut across the body of the fish, about 1cm from the head and 1cm from the tail. When doing this step, you will notice a white thread-like line popping up inside.

Slowly remove this thread until it is completely removed. Do the same for both sides of the fish. This will help significantly reduce the fishy odor. Be careful not to pull too hard to avoid breaking the thread in the middle, only apply enough force.

According to the chef’s advice, although removing this thread helps reduce the fishy odor, to effectively eliminate the fishy odor, you need to follow the additional steps below.

Remove the fish scales and slime on the surface: After removing the fish scales, you will see a layer of slime on the surface of the fish. If in contact with it, the fishy odor can stick to your hands and be difficult to remove immediately. This is one of the causes of the fishy odor on the fish’s body. Therefore, after gutting the fish and removing the scales, it is important to clean this slime layer. For fish with characteristic and difficult-to-clean slime like smooth-skinned fish, you can use a salt massage method, which is effective.

Remove the fish gills: In addition to removing the black film and fish guts, removing the gill covers also helps reduce the fishy odor. This gill cover is located near the head and back of the fish, and it is the source of the fishy odor. Organs and a small part of the black film often cling to this piece of bone, making it difficult to clean. Therefore, you can use scissors to cut this part, then scrape it several times with your fingernail and clean it.

Remove the blood clot between the backbone: Fish blood has a fishy odor, however, the amount of blood in the fish after gutting is often not much. The blood usually accumulates in the fish’s gut between the large bones. Fortunately, you can easily clean this blood part by rinsing with water and using your hand to clean it.

Other Effective Tips for Removing Fishy Odor

Salt

Add a little salt to the water (make it slightly salty) and then soak the fish for about 5 – 10 minutes. You can use salt to rub on the fish, then remove scales and proceed to clean the fish.

Using salt can make the fish less slimy and effectively remove the fishy odor. Finally, just wash the fish with water before cooking.

Lime and vinegar

Lime and vinegar are very effective ingredients in removing the fishy odor. Cut a slice of lime and squeeze the juice onto the fish, let it sit for a few minutes before cooking, the lime juice permeating the fish will make it more fragrant.

This method not only helps to completely remove the fishy odor but also works well with slippery skin fish in removing the slimy substances on the skin.

Ginger

When you buy ginger, crush it and then slice it. Then, soak it in water together with the fish for about 5 minutes.

Ginger is very effective in removing the fishy odor and also enhances the flavor of the dish.

Spices

Additionally, you can use various spices in the kitchen to make a moist mixture that effectively removes the fishy odor. Use pepper, onions, chili, ginger, cilantro to reduce the fishy odor. If you don’t mind the smell of coriander, rub them on the fish. This is also a very effective method to remove the fishy odor.

Salt and alcohol

Take diluted saltwater and then place the pre-prepared fish in it for about 10 minutes. Or you can use salt to rub on the fish, then remove scales and proceed to clean the fish. Using salt can make the fish less slimy and effectively remove the fishy odor. Finally, just wash the fish with water before cooking.

In addition, you can also soak the fish in diluted alcohol with water for about 15 minutes and then rinse with clean water, the fishy odor will also significantly decrease.