Pan Seared Fish with Sweet Fermented Chilli Paste and Roasted Tomatoes

Dear :  The food connoisseur!

 

There is nothing better than eating fresh seafood right from the seashore, however if you are far away from the sea breeze, a trip to a local fish market would always be exciting and fresh! Now… a fresh whole fish should have clear eyes and shiny scales. If you buy a fillet however, look for a firm intact flesh. Picking the fresh fish is the key in flavorful and tasty fish dish.

 

As always, I love to experiment on combining flavors. This time we are going to use my  express taste booster : The asian fermented chilli paste. You can get this in most asian ( Chinese and Korean market in a jar. The sweet and hot taste gives a perfect kick that I need to enhance the fish flavor while minimizing the fishy smell that some people can not stand.

 

This dish actually the east meet the west for me. Being brought up in the Asia, fish is most enjoyably consumed by deep frying it, and serving  it on  rice  with the shrimp paste chili sauce. Omitting the deep fried part, I tried to play around with the idea of keeping the crispy skin texture and the goodness inside. Not to forget a little kick of our favorite friend; the chilli sauce. For those who are sensitive to the heat, dont worry, the fermented chilli paste are very mild and friendly! Just give it a try, and you will definetely back for more!

 

The " ingredients":

 

• Fish fillet cut to medium portion (approximately 4 x3 inch) you can use meaty white fish such as Halibut, Haddock, Marlin if not Salmon will do well too.
• Lemon pepper seasoning
• Sun Flower/ Olive oil
• Fresh Tomatoes/ Roasted tomatoes
• Finely chopped parsley
• 2 tbsp Fermented Chilli paste ( Korean or Chinese grocery)
• 1tsp honey
• Cucumber
• Spanish onion
• ½ tsp minced ginger
• Juice from half of lemon & lemon peel
• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped finely
• Salt to taste

 

The “execution”:

 

• Pat dry the fish, and sprinkle the fish with lemon pepper seasoning

 

• Pan Seared the fish to crisp the skin  for 2 minutes each sides ( I love using iron cast or stainless steels pan so I can put the pan inside the oven right after)

 

• Meanwhile, in a bowl mix  the fermented chilli paste, with lemon juice, honey

 

•  Take off the fish from heat, leave in a little oil in  fish pan

 

• Put the sliced onion,  minced ginger, tomatoes, chopped garlic on top of the fish in the pan

 

• Put into oven to bake at 350 F for 16-20 minutes

 

• Once its done, the aromatic vegetable should infused their flavor through the oil, and the natural juice of the fish will ooze out.

 

• Plate the fish and the onions, tomatoes. Add the mixed fermented chilli paste on the side or you can drizzle it on top of the fish

 

• Cucumber on the side is good for cooling down the palate.

 

In order to add servings of vegetables to your diet, you can add in mixed vegetable salads and use the juice from the fish and the sweet fermented chilli sauce as the dressings.

I can not wait until summer comes and try different fish dishes on the grill! For now…I am taking a break to stroll around the town. See you soon!

 

Love always,

Passion + Patience

*Gastrobutterfly*

A food to your soul.