10 Jun miso sea bass

Fish is something I’m not particularly confident about cooking, though I’m finding my feet (or fins, as it were) as I practice it more. I have found it tricky to obtain that restaurant-level crispy-skinned loveliness on my frying pan at home, so I’ve tended to avoid the disappointment by roasting or grilling fish. I really should face my pan-fried fears and just practice getting that crispy skin right. Perhaps I’ll work on that next week. This week, I’m sticking with

I’m still on my miso buzz these days, which I’ve been using as a delicious glaze for greens such as pak choi and vegetables such as aubergines. I wanted to try it out as a marinade or topping for fish, and I was really taken with the results. Miso is a direct ticket to umami town, so if you’re into the savoury side of life, it’s an absolute essential for you to start cooking with.

Cooking the fish under the grill allows the miso paste to bubble and slightly caramelize, while the fish cooks evenly underneath.

This supper is filling enough on its own for me but a bowl of fluffy steamed or boiled rice would be really nice served alongside this miso fish, with a bit of soya sauce on the side.

Miso Sea Bass

Ingredients

4 pieces of sea bass or mackerel

1 tablespoon of miso paste

1 tablespoon of mirin

1 tablespoon of sugar

Juice of half a lime

Half a teaspoon of chilli flakes

1 tablespoon of sunflower oil

Sesame seeds (black or white)

400g of tenderstem broccoli

2 tablespoons of toasted sesame oil

1 teaspoon of freshly grated ginger

1 tablespoon of lime juice

Salt

Pepper

1 spring onion

Method

1. Use a sharp knife to cut the fish fillets into three smaller sections. You want to have well-sized chunks of fish that can be easily picked up by chopsticks. It just makes the dish more presentable and can stretch the fish to feed more mouths, if needs be.

2. Place some tin foil on your grill tray and place the pieces of fish on top of it.

3. In a bowl, mix together the miso paste, mirin, sugar, juice of half a lime, chiilli flakes, and sunflower oil until you have a well blended sauce.

4. Use a pastry brush to evenly spread the miso paste on the fish. You should get through all of the paste so be generous with your coatings of the fish. Sprinkle each piece of fish with a pinch of sesame seeds.

5. Heat the grill to medium to high heat and place the fish underneath it for about 8 minutes for mackerel and about 11 minutes for sea bass. Keep an eye on the fish, as you want the fish to cook through and for the miso paste to caramelize a bit but you don’t want the miso paste topping to burn.

6. Meanwhile, put a large pot of water on the boil and add a pinch of salt. When the fish is nearly done, place the tenderstem broccoli in the boiling water for 3 minutes, or until they become a vibrant green colour.

7. Meanwhile, make a dressing for the broccoli by mixing together the toasted sesame oil, freshly grated ginger, lime juice and a pinch of salt and pepper.

8. Drain the broccoli and return to the saucepan, off the heat. Drizzle the toasted sesame oil over it and mix well.

9. Arrange the broccoli on a serving plate. Add the grilled fish on top. Sprinkle with more sesame seeds, a pinch of chilli flakes, a sprinkling of freshly chopped spring onions and some lime wedges on the side.

This recipe first appeared in The Irish Independent on Thursday 9th of June 2016