Wels Catfish with Onion in a Pan

Name: Wels Catfish with Onion in a Pan
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 5 servings
Ingredients: Wels catfish – 2 kg. Salt – to taste. Onion – 2 pcs. Vegetable oil – 70 ml. Flour – for coating.

Published: 05.09.2026

Updated: 05.09.2026

🤤 Здорові рецепти щодня

Cooking time 50 minutes Portions 5 servings

This recipe has five ingredients and one technique that decides everything: the onion is fried after the fish, in the same oil. It soaks up the fish fat and the leftover flour from the bottom of the pan, and turns into part of the dish rather than a mere side — which is exactly why it isn't salted together with the fish, only at the end.

The lid is never used. Wels catfish releases a lot of moisture, and under a lid it stays in the pan: instead of a golden crust you get boiled pieces in cloudy juice.

Two kilograms of fish are not fried at once. The pieces need to lie loosely, with gaps between them — packed tightly, they start steaming each other again.

The same catfish turns portion-sized in wels catfish steak pan-fried in soy marinade. Frying it whole instead calls for slashes first, the way how to fry a whole carp deliciously does it.

Caloric content: 175kcal

Ingredients

Wels catfish – 2 kg.
Salt – to taste.
Onion – 2 pcs.
Vegetable oil – 70 ml.
Flour – for coating.

Cut and salt

Gut the wels catfish, rinse it and cut it into portioned pieces. Put the pieces in a bowl, salt and mix by hand.

Coat and lay out

Roll each piece in flour and shake off the excess. Heat a pan with oil and lay the fish in loosely, with gaps between the pieces.

Fry without a lid

Fry the catfish until golden over moderate heat on both sides, then transfer it to a plate.

Add the onion

Pour a little more oil into the pan and add the onion, sliced into half-rings.

Fry the onion

Fry until golden over medium heat, stirring. Salt right at the end.

Serve

Serve the fried wels catfish together with the onion, hot. Potatoes make a good side dish.

Notes

Salt the onion at the end. Salted at the start, it releases water right away and stews instead of browning.
Don't use a lid. Wels catfish releases a lot of moisture, and under a lid it doesn't evaporate — there will be no crust.
Fry in batches. The pieces need to lie loosely. Two kilograms at once won't fit in any home pan.
Add more oil before the onion. The fish soaks up almost all of it, and onion in a dry pan will burn within a minute.
Shake off the flour. Excess coating burns in the oil and gives the onion fried after it a bitter taste.

Questions and Answers

How long do you fry wels catfish in a pan?

Seven to eight minutes on each side over moderate heat, without a lid, until golden.

Why is the onion fried after the fish?

So it picks up the fish fat from the oil. Fried separately, it stays a plain side dish.

Can it be covered with a lid?

No. Wels catfish releases a lot of moisture, and under a lid it won't evaporate — instead of a crust you'll get boiled fish.

How much fish fits in the pan at once?

As much as fits loosely, with gaps between the pieces. Two kilograms are fried in two or three batches.

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