Crispy, golden-skinned fish is delicious, but not always easy to achieve. Eric Ripert, executive chef at renowned restaurant Le Bernardin, was surprised to find that an unexpected type of flour makes for the best crispy fish, and he's been using this special ingredient for all sorts of seafood since the 1990s.

Whether he's frying salmon, crab, or something else, Ripert uses Wondra flour to coat his fish, a pre-cooked instant flour with a gritty texture that dissolves in water and other cooking liquids. When malted barley flour is mixed in with it, the Wondra flour turns golden and turns proteins into crisped perfection.

To get this same crispy effect at home, dry the outside of your fish filets well and dust them with salt, pepper, and Wondra flour before putting them in a sizzling pan of vegetable oil. Once a golden crust forms, flip it, and let it cook to completion, which you can check by piercing the flesh with a metal skewer.