How to Choose Fresh Fish Like a Pro

The three checks that matter most

You do not need to be a marine biologist to buy good fish. Three checks will get you most of the way there: the eyes, the smell, and the texture. Fresh fish has clear, slightly bulging eyes, not sunken or cloudy ones. It smells clean and like the sea, not sour, sharp, or like ammonia. And the flesh should spring back when you press it gently, rather than leaving a dent.

These three checks work across almost every whole fish you will find at a wet market or supermarket counter in Singapore, from sea bass to mackerel to snapper. If you build a habit of running through them every time, you will rarely bring home a dud.

Fish is also one of the easier proteins to fit into a balanced plate. The Balanced Meal Builder can help you figure out portions and pairings if you are unsure how to build a full meal around it.

A closer look at gills, scales, and fillets

If you can, lift the gill flap and look underneath. Fresh fish has bright red or deep pink gills. Brown, grey, or dull gills are a sign the fish has been sitting for a while. Scales should be firmly attached and shiny, not loose or falling off at a touch.

For fillets, where you cannot check eyes or gills, look at the flesh itself. Fresh fillets look moist, slightly translucent at the edges, and have a natural sheen. Dull, dry-looking, or chalky white flesh usually means the fish has been sitting longer than ideal, even if it is still technically safe to eat.

• Whole fish: check eyes, gills, and skin
• Fillets: check moisture, colour, and firmness
• Any fish: press gently and watch how quickly it springs back

It also helps to check the belly area on a whole fish. A soft, sunken belly can be a sign the fish is starting to break down internally, even if the outside still looks fine at a glance. A firm, intact belly is a small but useful extra sign of freshness that many shoppers skip entirely.

Smart habits at the market or supermarket

Buy fish toward the end of your shopping trip so it spends less time out of a cold environment, and get it into the fridge or freezer as soon as you get home. If you are shopping at a wet market, go early when the catch has just come in and turnover is fastest.

Do not be shy about asking the fishmonger when the fish came in, or which one they would pick for themselves that day. Most fishmongers will tell you honestly, and a good relationship with a stall you trust is often more useful long term than memorising every visual check in the book. Bringing a small insulated bag for the walk home is also a simple habit that protects your effort at the counter, especially on a hot Singapore afternoon when the walk from the market to your kitchen can undo a lot of good freshness in a short time.

If you are trying to eat more fish generally as part of a healthier routine, our guide on building balanced meals out of everyday local food shows how fish can slot into hawker-style eating too, not just home cooking.

How to choose fresh fish with confidence every time

Once the eyes-smell-texture checks become second nature, choosing fish stops feeling like a gamble. You will start noticing which stalls consistently sell fresher product, and you will waste less money bringing home fish that turns out disappointing by the time you cook it.

Fresh fish also tends to need less seasoning and sauce to taste good, since the quality is already there. If you want more practical food guides like this one, the food hub is where older SHAPE nutrition and cooking content is being rebuilt with clearer, more useful advice for real kitchens.

Is frozen fish worse than fresh fish?

Not necessarily. Fish frozen quickly after catching can be very good quality, sometimes better than fish that has sat unfrozen for days.