Cut the fillets into sticks of as equal a size as you can get, approximately 3-4"x1/2".
Sprinkle the fish with lemon juice. Set aside.
Stir salt and pepper, to taste, into the flour and put in a shallow dish.
Place the egg whites in a shallow dish.
Whisk your preferred seasoning blend into the bread crumbs, and put in a shallow dish.
Spray a cooling rack with pan spray and set over a cookie sheet or jelly roll pan.
Dredge each fish stick in lightly in the seasoned flour, knocking off the excess. Then, dip in the egg white. Let drain a few seconds. Lastly, dredge in the seasoned bread crumbs. Set each stick on the rack.
At this point, you can either bake these or pan fry.
To bake:
Preheat the oven to 450F.
Let the fish sticks set up for about ten minutes on the rack. This will help to keep the breading from flaking off.
Bake on the cooling rack/jelly roll pan set up until the fish is cooked and the breading is nice and golden brown, about ten minutes.
To pan fry:
Heat a heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat until hot.
Add olive oil to a depth of about 1/4".
When the oil is hot, fry the sticks, making sure not to crowd the pan. Turn as each side cooks and turns golden brown. Total cooking time will be about five minutes.
Remove to paper towels to drain.
Kid-Friendly Sauces
- ketchup
- honey mustard (simply whisk together honey and mustard, to taste)
- the kids' favorite barbecue sauce
- ranch dressing or other salad dressing
- tartar sauce
- raita or tzatziki sauce
- marinara sauce
Adult-Friendly Sauces
- Hollandaise sauce seasoned with parsley and dill
- Cocktail sauce with horseradish
- Soy sauce and Sriracha
- a mixture of mirin, dark soy sauce, minced fresh ginger and a pinch of sugar
- curry sauce
- sauce puttanesca
