[Pseudoscience-is-malarkey (OP)]

If you were to make a tasty "fried" fish without actually frying it because you're watching your caloric intake, how would you go about doing it, or instruct someone to do it?

[alancalverd]

The batter around fried fish was not originally intended to be eaten but discarded! The object is to hold the fish together and preserve flavor whilst it steams in its own liquid. Traditional Sabbath fish is cooked the day before and eaten cold, so the batter prevents overnight loss of moisture. So you could get the same flavor of fish by wrapping it in clingfilm and putting it in a microwave oven or a steamer. 

Problem is that folk like the taste of fishy fried batter, or fish baked with butter or oil, so you can't win. Just eat less of it.

[paul cotter]

Isn't great to have a religious authority figure on the forum, we would be lost otherwise.

[Pseudoscience-is-malarkey (OP)]

Did I really say that?

Technically you wrote that, but yes, you did say that.

[Petrochemicals]

Barbecue? Blowtorch ?  I think frying is a method of high temperature cooking that transfers heat quickly. Like toasting it caramelises bits of the food, the carbohydrate mainly.

[Bored chemist]

Baked in breadcrumbs isn't a bad option.

[alancalverd]

Like toasting it caramelises bits of the food, the carbohydrate mainly.

And there's the question. "Fried fish" can mean two very different things: fish placed directly onto an oiled pan, or fish coated with something starchy and immersed in hot oil. In the latter case, none of the fish gets caramelised, just steamed.

[Petrochemicals]

Like toasting it caramelises bits of the food, the carbohydrate mainly.

And there's the question. "Fried fish" can mean two very different things: fish placed directly onto an oiled pan, or fish coated with something starchy and immersed in hot oil. In the latter case, none of the fish gets caramelised, just steamed.

In that case I'm would say that the oils are kept within the fish along with the moisture.

[alancalverd]

What oils? The frying oil is on the outside of the batter, not on the fish!

[Pseudoscience-is-malarkey (OP)]

Barbecue? Blowtorch?  I think frying is a method of high-temperature cooking that transfers heat quickly. Like toasting it caramelises bits of the food, the carbohydrate mainly.

In New Zealand and Australia, it's a huge thing to bbq a fish, usually a large snapper or gurnard wrapped in aluminum foil and cooked on the grill. Obviously that isn't mimicking the taste, redolence or structure of fried fish.

[Bored chemist]

What oils? The frying oil is on the outside of the batter, not on the fish!

depends what  you are frying.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oily_fish

[alancalverd]

Oily? Fishy? This is about food, not politics!