Tip of the day:

Dry, flaky fish might not be what you were aiming for, but it does absorb dressings and sauces nicely. You can disguise overcooked fish with Hollandaise sauce or a splash of extra tangy mayonnaise spiced up with some lemon juice, lime juice, fresh ginger and shallots. Firm fish like salmon can be turned into fish cakes.

To help ensure your next fish dish turns out perfectly:

• Use your eyes, not a timer, to determine when fish is done. Check the fish often and earlier than you think it needs.
• To see if fish is done, lift a couple of layers with a fork. If the flesh is translucent, keep cooking. You want the fish to be moist with a tiny bit of translucent flesh at the centre. Overcooked fish is totally opaque and dry.
• Cook thin fillets quickly at a high temperature for a couple of minutes per side.
• Cook thick fish steaks in two phases. Sear the outside on high, then turn down the heat to medium so the inside cooks.
• When cooking whole fish, tuck thin tapered ends under to make the tail the same thickness as the rest of the fish