Chilean Sea Bass with Nobu’s Black Bean Sauce

From Nobu’s cookbook

Time: 45 minutes

• 2 tablespoons finely julienned fresh ginger, in 1 1/2-inch lengths
• 4 Chilean sea bass fillets, each about 6 ounces (thick fillets of mahi-mahi, skinless salmon or skinless wild striped bass can be substituted)
• Sea salt and ground black pepper
• 4 tablespoons Chinese black bean paste
• 2/3 cup sake
• 1/2 bunch chives, cut in 1 1/2-inch lengths
• 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 teaspoons Asian sesame oil.

1. Place ginger in cold water for two minutes. Drain and pat dry. Set aside.

2. Season fish with salt and pepper. Mix black bean paste with 1 tablespoon sake, and spread on top of fish.

3. Place fish on rimmed heat-proof plate that will fit in a steamer. Add remaining sake to plate. Steam over high heat 10 minutes, less for salmon. Remove plate from steamer. Carefully pour liquid from plate into bowl. Cover bowl to keep warm.

4. Place ginger spears, then chives, on top of each fillet, laying them all in one direction. Heat olive oil and sesame oil together in small skillet until very hot but not smoking. Gently pour hot oil over fish.

5. Pour reserved cooking liquid into each of four shallow soup plates. Transfer fish to plates and serve.

Yield: 4 servings.

ALTERNATE SAUCE-EEL SAUCE

Tamari – For the best flavour and quality, use a Japanese brand tamari sauce such as Kikkoman which has the perfect balance of flavour and salt. Most brands of tamari are also gluten free. Otherwise, sub with regular soy sauce or low-sodium soy sauce if you prefer.

Mirin – This is a sweet rice wine for cooking. You can sometimes find it in regular supermarkets, otherwise head to your nearest Asian grocer or online. If you don’t have it, just leave it out and add in an extra 1 tsp of sake and sugar instead.

Cooking Sake – This is a type of rice wine made for cooking. It’s lighter and more delicate in flavour than Chinese cooking wine, but you can use either in this recipe. Look for it at Asian grocers or online. You can substitute with sherry or a blend of 50:50 vodka and water in a pinch, or just use water only and leave out the alcohol completely. If you’re unsure about the alcohol in this recipe, remember that it will evaporate during the cooking process, leaving you with the beautiful flavour and shine only.

Sugar – Regular white sugar, otherwise sub with any sugar you have on hand. You can even use maple syrup if you prefer.

Small dish of Japanese eel sauce on a green plate.

Ingredients

▢3 tbsp tamari sub soy sauce

▢3 tbsp mirin

▢3 tbsp sake

▢1 ½ tbsp sugar

Instructions

Place sake, mirin and sugar in a small saucepan over medium high heat. Bring to a boil and cook for 2-3 minutes to cook off the alcohol.

3 tbsp mirin,3 tbsp sake,1 ½ tbsp sugar

Add tamari, then continue to simmer over a medium high heat for around 5-10 minutes or until the sauce reduces by at least half. If you want an extra thick sauce, you can reduce this further, down to a third or more.