Tom Yum Poached Chilean Sea bass

This is one of the ways I have combined one of my favorite soups (Tom Yum) with one of my favorite fish (Chilean Sea Bass) The concept is pretty simple - first you make the soup and then you slowly poach the fish until it's cooked through. Because I was making three dishes at the time I was making this one, I opted to make a very quick Tom Yum soup with easy ingredients.

Ingredients:

Chilean Sea Bass (4 ounce cut)
1 stalk lemongrass
2 inch piece of galangal thinly sliced
1 quart chick stock
4-6 kaffir lime leaves
4-6 Thai chili peppers (roughly chopped) or 2 tablespoon Nam Prik Pao (Thai chili paste consisting of fried garlic, shallots, chili peppers, and shrimp paste)
2-3 tablespoon tamarind powder
1 tablespoon kosher salt
3-5 tablespoon fish sauce
1 can straw mushrooms
3-4 Roma tomatoes (quartered)


Directions:

Add chicken stock, lemongrass, galangal and kaffir lime leaves in stock pot on high heat and bring to a boil. Once the ingredients have come to a boil, reduce the heat down to medium low and add salt, tamarind powder, chili peppers or nam prik pao, fish sauce, tomatoes and mushrooms. Adjust the tartness by adding or reducing the amount of tamarind powder. You can also adjust the spiciness by adding or reducing the chili peppers or nam prik pao. I suggest that you add half the amount listed above for both ingredients first and then add more later to please your palette.

This is the base of all Tom Yum soups, so if you decide to add shrimp, chicken, tofu, etc. this is the time to add it. Your final step is to reduce the soup down to a simmer and place the fish in the soup. Depending on the size of the fish it shouldn't take longer then 6-10 minutes for the fish to fully cook in the soup.

Lemon Butter Chilean Sea Bass w/ Creamy Crimini Risotto

First, I would like to thank everyone for following my blog last year. I would also like to apologize for not updating it in over 2 months.

However, no need to fear - I'm still cooking but I just haven't had the time to post any blogs. 2011 is going to be a big year for Bistro 331, I've already moved into a new place with new appliances! So hopefully I can do bigger and better things.

Chilean Sea Bass has always been my favorite fish ever since I had my first taste at Eddie V's. Eddie V's serves theirs Hong Kong style steamed in soy sauce and ginger - I'll prepare a variation of that dish in one of my upcoming blogs. The way I've prepare it today is very simple; where you can do this technique with just about any white fish. The risotto I've paired with this dish, pairs perfectly. Personally, I think it enhances the creaminess of the fish itself.

Ingredients:

Chilean Sea Bass
1 1/2 stick unsalted butter
1/2 lemon (juice and zest)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 cup Arborio rice
3-4 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup Crimini mushrooms (chopped)
3-4 tablespoon heavy cream
Parsley (for garnish)
1/8 cup Parmesan cheese (grated and a few thin slices for garnish)

Directions:

You may want to start on your risotto first as it takes 15-20 minutes to prepare. To see how to prepare the risotto follow the link to a previous post.

Now onto the main event - the succulent Chilean Sea Bass. Dry rub your fish by sprinkling a little salt and pepper on all sides. Next, melt 1 stick of butter into the skillet that you will be using to cook the fish. Once the butter has melted, add the lemon juice and zest to the skillet. Place the fish on the skillet - do not try to flip it too soon or it'll break on you. With a metal spoon, take some of the butter from the skillet and begin bathing the top of the fish, you'll continue to do so until the fish is ready to be flipped. To test if your fish is ready to flip or not, take the spatula and gently try to lift the edge of the fish, if it lifts easily, it's ready to be flipped if it's still sticking to the pan then it's not quite ready yet. Depending on the thickness of the fish (this one was about 2 inches thick) you should cook each side for about 4-5 minutes. Once the fish has been cook, you'll want to drain some of the excess butter from the fish by holding the fish on a spatula for a minute or two over the skillet.

Once the fish has cooked, all you need to do now is plate your fish on top of the risotto that you prepared beforehand. Garnish with some fresh curly leaf parsley and a few strips of Parmesan cheese. This is one of my favorite dishes so I hope you'll give it a try.