The real fish connoisseur is apt to frown on any method of cooking his cherished “sea food” other than steaming or grilling, his idea being that baking dries it up and that frying gives you not the flavour of the fish, but that of scorched (and probably animal) fat. But for most ordinary palates this is going too far, and the popularity of “fried fish and chips” alone shows that it is not necessary to pay too much attention to such a cranky notion.