Crispy Pan Fried Sea Bass w/ Miso Dashi Concentrate

Date Night

So crispy, so rich, so fancy.

Ingredients

800g Skin-on Sea Bass
300g Asparagus
1 Sheet konbu
2tbsp katsuobushi
125ml sake
15ml mirin
15ml dark soy
35g Red/Aka Miso
1 Leek, halved
1 Shallot, halved
135g Butter
1 Lime, juiced
1Tbsp Corn Starch

Directions

Before starting, prep your filet into 200g portions and season liberally on all sides with salt. Store in the fridge until it's needed later. This will draw out some moisture from the fish, allowing the skin to crisp up nicely.

Now let's make the miso concentrate. Place one sheet of konbu seaweed into a saucepan along with 500ml of water.
Bring to a boil, and remove the seaweed once the water boils.
Add in 2Tbsp of Katsuobushi, kill the heat, and let it steep for 5 minutes.
Strain the stock and reserve.
Into the same saucepan over medium heat, place 15g of butter and allow it to melt.
Add a halved shallot and a halved leek, both cut side down, and allow them to sauté and brown.
Deglaze with 125ml of dry sake (or a dry white wine).
Add the stock (aka dashi) back into the pot, as well as 15ml each of mirin cooking wine, and dark soy sauce.
Reduce the heat to medium low, and simmer for 30min.

While simmering, blanche 300g of asparagus for 5min.
Shock in an ice bath to stop the cooking process and preserve the green color.
In a food processor, puree the asparagus with a few pinches of salt, 60g of butter, and the juice of one lime.
Add 100ml of dashi or water if the puree is too thick (your preference).

Back to the dashi, strain in 35g of red miso paste and stir to dissolve.
Strain the liquid to remove the leeks and shallots, then return to the pot along with a tablespoon of corn starch.
Stir constantly until the stock thickens into a smooth syrup.

In a medium skillet over medium high heat, melt 60g of butter until the foaming stops.
Add in the fish filets, skin side down, and cook for 2 minutes.
After two minutes the skin should be crispy and brown.
Flip the fish over, and place in a 200°C oven for 8 minutes, or until the fish is cooked through (not necessary for thin filets).

Plate the fish on top of a spoonful of the miso concentrate. Spread the asparagus puree artfully around the plate with the back of a spoon.

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