What a busy week it has been! Kat cooked on Monday, we were out with friends for Vietnamese food on Tuesday, Wednesday I had the good fortune of being invited on a fishing trip, and Thursday it was pizza with more friends. Here it is Friday already and I haven’t cooked all week…it is a good night to stay in, have a quiet dinner, and perhaps watch a movie.
Getting back to that fishing trip; I think the warm weather here has the fish a little confused. We were out on the ocean from sunset until midnight and I only brought home 4 little fish. But fresh fish is fresh fish so I wanted to make the most of it. I knew we were busy on Thursday so I filleted the Snapper, and sealed 4 fillets airtight in a plastic bag, and put them on ice. The other 4 fillets were vacuum sealed and frozen for another day.
Fresh fish stays fresh for 2-3 days as long as you keep it cold…ice cold! For my taste, the refrigerator alone is not cold enough and flavor will deteriorate quickly unless the fish is kept on ice. I usually seal fish in an airtight zip lock or vacuum sealed bag then place it in a big bowl of ice. I cover that with another layer of plastic wrap over the top and put the whole thing on the bottom shelf of the fridge. This way, even if the ice melts a little bit, your fish stays nice & cold and doesn’t get waterlogged. Whole, cleaned fish will keep just as well stored the same way.
For this recipe I used boneless fillets. To get good browning it is important to that the fish is dry so after rinsing them I placed them on paper towels and patted them mostly dry, then I transferred them to another layer of paper towels and repeated the process. With sprinkling of salt & pepper…they were ready to go! The fish was served over a bed of Sautéed Spinach with Toasted Sesame Oil with Edamame and Brown Rice.
Pan Fried Snapper with a Sesame Ginger Soy Glaze
4 – 4 to 6 ounce Fillets, Snapper (Tilapia or Catfish would be a good substitute)
¼ Cup – Whole Wheat Flour
Kosher Salt & Fresh Ground Black Pepper
¼ Cup – Soy Sauce
¼ Cup plus 1/8 Cup – Dry White Wine, Divided
1 Tbsp – Agave Nectar
1 Tbsp – Toasted Sesame Oil
1 Tbsp – Rice Wine Vinegar
1 Tbsp – Fish Sauce
1 Tbsp – Fresh Ginger, Minced
1 Tbsp – Fresh Garlic, Minced
¼ Tsp – White Pepper
1 Tbsp – Dry Sesame Seeds
3 – Green Onions, Sliced
1 Tsp – Corn Starch
1 Tbsp – Sesame Oil
1 Tbsp – Canola Oil
Add the soy sauce and ¼ cup wine to a bowl along with the next 7 ingredients, reserve until fish is cooked. Add 1 tsp corn starch and 1/8 wine to another bowl and mix well (this creates a slurry), set aside.
Heat a non-stick pan over medium high heat adding the sesame and canola oil when hot. Pat the fish dry, season with salt & pepper and dredge in flour. Shake off any excess flour and cook the fish 2 fillets at a time browning well, about 2 minutes per side. Remove fish to a paper towel to drain.
When fish is done, discard any excess oil and add the reserved sauce. Raise the heat to high and as soon as the sauce comes to a boil, remove the pan from the heat and stir in the corn starch & wine slurry. When the sauce begins to thicken, stir in the green onions and sesame seeds.
Gently dip each piece of fish in the sauce to coat. Set the fish on the serving plate and spoon on additional sauce before serving.
Enjoy,
Randy
Recipes Randy Cooks 