Miso-Glazed Sea Bass

They say that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, but I think that the way to mine is through miso-glazed sea bass. After hours of marinating, the miso mixture keeps the fish tender and then, when cooking, it caramelizes on the surface. The result is a soft, flaky fish with a salty sweet flavor that melts in your mouth. I first ate this dish at an amazing restaurant here in Philadelphia, and have since gotten to work in the kitchen with my boyfriend trying to replicate it. I have to say, we’ve come pretty damn close, and now it’s time to share the amazingness with all of you! We laid it over a bed of black rice with shallots, grey oyster mushrooms, and sweet peas that I picked up at the farmer’s market for a nice complement.

(If you don’t want to dish for sea bass, you can substitute another type fish. I suggest tilapia, halibut, or flounder as cheaper options.)

Fish Ingredients:

2 Portions of Sea Bass (about .8oz)

1/3 Cup Brown Rice Miso Paste

1 Tbsp Minced Ginger

2 Tbsp Mirin

1/3 Cup Rice Vinegar

1 Cup Brown Sugar

1 Tbsp Lime Juice

2 Tbsp Thai Chili Sauce

Salt & Pepper to Taste

Rice Ingredients:

1 Cup Black Rice

2 ¼ Cup Water

1 Large Shallot

1 Cup Grey Oyster Mushrooms – Broken Apart

15 Sweet Peas – Shelled

2 Tbsp Truffle Oil

Salt & Pepper to Taste

Marinating Directions:

Combine miso paste, ginger, mirin, rice vinegar, brown sugar, lime juice, thai chili sauce, salt and pepper in a large mixing bowl with a whisk.

Submerge raw fish in the mixture and let sit in the refrigerator for 1hr-1day (the longer the better)

Rice Directions:

In a medium pot, combine rice and water, and cook as you would normally cook rice.

When the water is almost evaporated (about 5 minutes left to go) add in your peas.

In a frying pan, sauté mushrooms with shallots and truffle oil. Salt and Pepper.

When your rice if finished cooking, stir in sauté mixture – cover and sit until your fish is finished.

Fish Frying Directions:

Heat your frying pan over a high flame with a small amount of grapeseed oil

Place fish into the frying pan and let cook until the first side begins to blacken. The marinade caramelizing will appear pretty black, so don’t be scared of those dark marks. The whole time the fish is cooking you can continually baste more marinade from the mixing bowl on top of the fish to keep it moist and flavorful.

Flip your fish and after about 10 seconds, lower to a med-low flame. Cook until your fish is tender to the touch and second side is nicely blackened as well.