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Sea Bass with Miso Sauce

Sea bass

Eating Nobu’s ‘black cod’ inspired this recipe.

Serves 4 Preparation/Cooking time 20 mins Cost per portion £3.00

Method
1. Pre heat the grill.
2. Dry the fillets with kitchen paper (the drier the better), then season with salt.
3. Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium to high heat.
4. Place the fillets skin side down in the pan, then turn the heat down to medium, and let them cook until the top surface of the fillet starts to become opaque at the edges and only about an inch of the centre is still not opaque (between 2 to 8 minutes depending on the thickness of the fillets).
5. Transfer the fillets from the pan onto an ovenproof dish or tray (skin side down).
6. Sprinkle a tiny bit of chilli powder onto the top surface of each fillet, then spread about 1 tablespoon of sweet miso sauce on top of the chilli powder.
7. Place under a grill until the miso starts to bubble – the sugar in the miso sauce will caramelise and turn a dark brown – watch closely as it burns easily, and the previously uncooked centre of the fish should have cooked through by now as well.
8. Serve immediately on warm plates.

Ingredients
4 sea bass fillets (about 100g each)
2 tablespoons cooking oil
Salt to taste
¼ teaspoon chilli powder – optional
4 tablespoons sweet miso sauce (see below for recipe)

Sweet miso sauce

Method for sweet miso sauce:
1. Put the miso paste in a saucepan and add the sugar.
2. Gradually add the sake and mirin, stirring well to prevent lumps from forming.
3. Heat the mixture over a medium heat until the sugar has dissolved (about 5 minutes), stirring constantly all the while.
4. Take the pan off the heat and let the mixture cool down – it keeps well in the fridge for a few weeks.

Ingredients for sweet miso sauce:
15 ml sake (1 tablespoon)
15 ml mirin (1 tablespoon)
60g (2 tablespoons) white miso paste
25g  (2 tablespoons) sugar

Additional Information
This method of cooking results in a crisp skin with very tender flesh – to get the crisp skin the fillets must be dry before frying them. And to have the ‘melt in your mouth softness’ that makes this recipe so good, the cooking time is crucial -  make sure you don’t over fry or over grill the fish. The actual cooking time depends on the thickness of the fillets – it varies between 2 minutes for very thin fillets to about 8 minutes for fatter fillets.

Nutrition Information

Nutrition per 100g portion RDA women RDA men RDA child
Energy 118 kcal 15% 12% 16%
Protein* 18 g 98% 80% 184%
Carbohydrate 5.4 g 6% 4% 6%
Total Sugars* 3.4 g 9% 7% 10%
Total Fat 2.6 g 9% 7% 9%
Polyunsaturates* 0.5 g
Mono Unsaturates* 0.5 g
Saturated Fat* 0.4 g 4% 3% 4%
Fibre* 0.0 g 0% 0% 0%
Salt 0.9 g 35% 35% 53%

* Percentage Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet for an average adult.
Your Daily Values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

Allergens: Fish, Soya

Cost per recipe: £ 12.00
Cost per portion: £3.00