Sea fish is a highly nutritious food, good for health. However, this type of fish often has a distinct fishy odor, even more fishy than fresh water fish.
To eliminate the unpleasant fishy odor of sea fish, the initial processing stage plays a crucial role. Washing sea fish with plain water is not enough, you need to add some other ingredients to remove the fishy odor.
How to eliminate the fishy odor of sea fish
Sea fish like mackerel, anchovies, herring… often have a fishy smell because they do not have live fish but only frozen fish. In addition, if the freezing process is not done properly, the amino acids in the fish will be decomposed, causing a fishy odor.
When processing the fish, you need to remove all the blood inside the fish, including the blood clot in the spine and the black membrane in the belly. These are the parts that make the fish smell strong. Similar to fresh water fish, during processing, you need to cut off the entrails, remove the scales, and remove the fins.
After that, soak the fish in salt water for about 5 minutes. Continue to wash the fish thoroughly under clean water and let it drain, then prepare the dish.

You can use some readily available ingredients in the kitchen to remove the fishy odor of sea fish.
In addition to using salt water, you can mix alcohol and crushed ginger in water and use this water to wash the fish. Rinse off excess blood and black membranes, then rinse the fish again with clean water. Do not soak the fish in alcohol as it can alter the taste and texture of the fish meat.
You can also utilize rice washing water to soak and wash the fish to help remove the fishy odor.
Another way to remove the fishy odor of fish is to use lime or vinegar. Use lime or vinegar to evenly apply on the inside and outside of the fish, scrub to remove the mucus, then rinse the fish with clean water and let it drain before cooking.
For sea fish, using green tea water is a very effective way to remove the fishy odor. You can boil some green tea and let it cool. Use this water to wash the fish as usual, then rinse again with clean water. Besides using green tea water to wash the fish, people also often cook fish with fresh tea leaves to remove the fishy odor.
How to remove the fishy odor of other seafood
– For squid: You can use tea water to wash squid. Boil some tea water and then put the squid in to quickly blanch. The tea water will remove the fishy odor of the squid, making it more delicious.
– For shrimp: You should remove the waste at the head of the shrimp and the black line on the back of the shrimp. Then, prepare a basin of water and add some sugar, salt, and white wine. Stir well for the ingredients to dissolve and soak the shrimp in this water for a few minutes. This method will prevent the shrimp from being fishy and make it tasty and crispy.
– For crab: You need to use a brush to clean off the mud and dirt stuck on the surface of the crab. Then, marinate the ingredients with a little white wine and crushed ginger. This method will help remove the fishy odor and make the crab more fragrant and appealing.