Macadamia Crusted Fish with Coconut Milk Sauce.

And now for something completely different.

In our last few episodes we've gone crazy with cream sauces.  This culminated with the Blue Cheese sauce that is definitely not for fish.  This got me thinking (Yes, that is what you were smelling) that I should share my creamy sauce for fish. 

I was inspired by a meal at Roy's restaurant in Hawaii.  I had a stack of stuff on a plate that included a Macadamia encrusted piece of fish that was doused in this excellent coconut milk based sauce.  I liked it so much that I bought the cookbook from the gift shop (I think the restaurant had a gift shop...but Mai Tais were involved) because it contained this recipe.  Long story short, there were 12 ingredients in the sauce alone.  I set about to simplify.

It turns out that most of the ingredients in the sauce were already in a sweet chili sauce called Mae Ploy. So you can make this sauce quickly and easily.  The recipe below makes way more sauce than you will need for 4 fish fillets.  That is because this stuff rocks on rice.

I'll detail the sauce and then show you how to do a great Macadamia Crusted fish to put under it.

For the sauce you'll need;

• 1 can unsweetened coconut milk (shake thouroughly before opening)
• 1/2 cup cream or half & half
• 1/2 cup Mae Ploy
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 1/2 Tbsp Scriracha sauce (optional but highly recommended)
• 4 to 5 basil leaves (finely chopped)

Combine the first 5 ingredients and bring to a simmer.

Constantly stir to prevent scorching.

Reduce by up to half.  Add the basil, remove from heat and stir in.

For the fish you'll need;

• 4 small pieces of fish (I used Hamachi, but recommend Mahi-mahi or Rockfish)
• 1-2 oz roasted Macadamia nuts (chopped fine)
• 1/4 cup AP flour
• 1/4 cup bread crumbs
• 1 Tbsp lemon pepper
• 1 tsp salt  

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl.

Dredge fish in crumbs and pat to set.  I have never needed to use an egg wash or anything because if you don't dry the fish it will be naturally wet enough to hold on to the crumbs.  Yes, lots falls off but we aren't making corn dogs here.

Get 3 Tbsp peanut oil and 1 Tbsp sesame oil into a pan over med heat. You need the extra oil to make the crust.  Get the fish into the pan and don't move it for 4 minutes.  The lower heat is so that the nuts don't burn.

After 4 minutes flip and cook for another 4 minutes.

Prep your plates.

Get the fishies onto the plates and spoon over a little bit of the sauce.  Don't hide your crust.

Serve the rest of the sauce in gravy boat.

Steamed Sea Bass w/Black Bean Paste

That's Black COD.

Originally I thought that this recipe used Black Cod, but no, it was Chilean Sea Bass.  The two fish are similar so go ahead and substitute.

Nobu Matsuhisa is a helluva chef.  One of the best meals of my life was at Nobu's New York restaurant.  It was my birthday and I had the top-tier omakase menu.  Far from all sushi dishes, this 8 course tasting menu hit all the parts of his menu.  This particular dish was excellent and also featured in his first cookbook.  I don't know whether his black bean paste was plain or the one I got was flavored, but his recipe needed serious modification to be palatable.  Here's the version that I make.

You'll need;

• 4 fillets of fish (you choose)
• pepper
• 4 Tbsp Chinese Black Bean Paste
• 4 oz sake plus 4 oz of water
• ginger spears
• chives cut into spears
• 8 Tbsp olive oil mixed with 2 Tbsp sesame oil
• 2 cups of white rice steamed.

Ignore the wine behind the the olive oil.  It was standing in for the sake.

Make the rice and let it stay warm in the cooker or pot.  This recipe goes quick and you'll need the rice to sop up the sauce and temper the taste.

Peel the ginger, cut off any dried areas and cut into spears about 3 in long. Matchstick thickness or less if you have da skilz.  Cut chives about 5 in long and cut them again lengthwise.  This opens up the chive a bit and reduces its strength.

Set the fish fillets skin side down and grind a little pepper on each fillet.

Smear 1 Tbsp of black bean paste on each fillet. Take it easy here, this stuff imparts a lot of garlic and salt if you overdo it.  If the fish has a slope to it, pile more on the top as it will run a bit during the steaming phase.

That is really more black bean paste than you should use.

Place fish in a steamer basket and put the sake and water into the bottom of a pot.

Bring sake to a boil and place the basket in the pot.  Cover and steam for 10 minutes. No peeking!

Put the oil mixture in a small skillet and heat to nearly smoking.

Remove the basket and leave the liquid in the pot.  It will have been flavored by the bean paste and fish. 

Place each piece of fish in a heat-proof serving bowl and top with the ginger and chive spears. I wasn't feeling artistic but it still tasted good. I put the ginger along the axis of the fish and the chive across.

It is weird not to be doing this in the bowl it will be served in.

Drizzle or spoon the oil mixture over the fish to cook the chives and ginger.  Don't use more than 2 Tbsp oil per fillet. The chive will wilt and drape down the sides of the fish and the ginger will smell heavenly.

Nobu does this on a dish other than the serving dish.  He prefers that the oil not be part of the liquid below.  I love the mix of the oil and the steaming liquid.  So here's what I did.  I made one with the full oil in the bottom of the serving bowl (to which I added the steaming liquid), one where I poured off most of the oil before adding the liquid, and the last where I did the oil thing on another bowl, then plated (bowled?) with just the steaming liquid.  You decide which looks best.  I'll report which tasted best.

This one had the full 2Tbsp of oil in the bottom of the pan before the liquid was added.

This little piggy had half the oil removed before the liquid was added.

This one was without residual oil.  Looks good, but no one wanted to eat it so I added oil to serve.

Add the reserved steaming liquid to the bottoms of each bowl.  Enough to cover the bottom, but not so much that you need SCUBA gear to eat your meal.

Add garnish if it is a fancy occasion.  I put a wad of pickled ginger (gari) in the bowl sometimes.  Dusting with sesame seeds might look nice too.  To eat, either lift the fish off the skin or tip the fish over and remove the skin before eating.  Add a wad of rice to the bowl to soak up any leftover liquid.  The 10 minute steam really preserves a moist yet flaky texture.

I could use some suggestions on how to pretty this up.  Maybe an Emeril-like dusting of some spice around the edge of the bowl?  A turnip cut like a rose?  I dunno.  I'm usually so hungry by the time this is done that I inhale it like a prisoner. Oh, the one with the full oil tasted the best, but the reduced oil one was healthier and still tasted pretty good.  I ask you, what is one Tbsp of oil in the grand scheme of things?

Black Cod vs Chilean Sea Bas

The jury is in.

The most requested recipe from my list was the Steamed Black Cod with Black Bean Paste.  So I am investigating a new fishmonger in my neighborhood.  The problem is that I just got out the recipe and it calls for Chilean Sea Bass.  How could I misremember it so?  Well it turns out that the two fish are very similar. (Except when Shigei  prepares them at my favorite sushi place)

To those that wanted Black Cod know this:  I will make the dish with whichever fish I can source first and you can always make it with Black Cod.

BTW, the second most requested recipe was the Prime Rib Roast and Yorkshire Puddings. I will be making this on March 14th when the family comes over for dinner so look for this one on March 15th.