Bream in Egg Coating, Pan-Fried

Name: Bream in Egg Coating, Pan-Fried
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 3 servings
Ingredients: Bream – 600 g. Chicken eggs – 1 pc. Salt – to taste. Potatoes – 600 g. Vegetable oil – for frying. Ground black pepper – to taste.

Published: 05.09.2026

Updated: 05.09.2026

🤤 Здорові рецепти щодня

Cooking time 30 minutes Portions 3 servings

It's called a "batter" out of habit, but one egg for six hundred grams of fish makes not a batter but a thin egg coating. The difference is noticeable: the coating clings to the piece and stays soft, while a real batter with flour forms a separate crisp shell under which the fish steams.

For bream, the soft version is often better. This fish isn't fatty on its own, and a thick floury shell strips away the little juice it has — while the egg film simply seals the cut surface and keeps it moist.

If you still want it crisp — two tablespoons of flour per egg, and you get a proper batter. Just use more oil then, and lower heat: flour burns faster than egg.

Skip the batter and bream fried in pieces, coated in flour cooks faster and stays lighter. The opposite extreme is braised bream in sour cream, which has no crust at all.

Caloric content: 140kcal

Ingredients

Bream – 600 g.
Chicken eggs – 1 pc.
Salt – to taste.
Potatoes – 600 g.
Vegetable oil – for frying.
Ground black pepper – to taste.

Break down the fish

Scale the bream, gut it, and rinse. Set the head and tail aside for fish soup, cut the carcass into pieces three to four centimeters thick, and pat dry.

Set the potatoes to boil

Peel the potatoes and set them to boil in salted water. Salt and pepper the fish pieces, and rub in the seasoning.

Beat the egg

Beat the egg with a fork until smooth.

Dip the fish

Dip each piece into the beaten egg right before the pan — the fish must not sit in the egg.

Heat the oil

Pour oil into a heated pan and let it warm through.

Fry

Add the bream in its egg coating, fry until golden, flip, then brown the cut edges.

Serve

Mash the boiled potatoes, divide the fish into portions, and serve together.

Notes

This is an egg coating, not a batter. One egg for six hundred grams of fish isn't enough for a thick shell, and you shouldn't expect crunch from it.
Dip the pieces right before the pan. Fish that sits in the egg releases juice into it, and the coating slides off into the oil.
Add flour for a thick batter. Two tablespoons per egg. Lower the heat then — flour burns before the egg sets.
Cut the bream into pieces three to four centimeters thick. Smaller pieces dry out while the coating is taking on color.
Set the head and tail aside for fish soup. Bream makes a rich broth, and it's a shame to throw them away.

Questions and Answers

Is this a real batter?

No, it's an egg coating. A real batter is egg with flour; one egg alone makes a thin film that clings to the piece.

How long should bream in egg coating be fried?

Three to four minutes per side until golden, then another minute on each cut edge.

Is flour necessary?

Not required. With it, the coating is thicker and crispier; without it, softer and lighter. For lean bream, the second option is usually better.

What should it be served with?

Classically, with mashed potatoes: it makes up for what the lean fish lacks.

Recipe and step-by-step photos — kolizhanka.net.ua.