My wife, our chihuahua Poppy and I drove up to the Wisconsin Dells for my grandson’s 13th birthday. At a great place, I ordered sea bass because it was the only thing on the menu I hadn’t tried. The waiter brought it out on a white plate, crisped and carmelized to the color of a copper penny, and it was the best thing I’ve eaten in years—moist all the way through, flaking apart with just a fork, tasting like lemon and miso.
So, when we got home, I stood in my own kitchen and started experimenting. There are dozens of sea bass recipes out there—I must have read forty of them—and after combining a few different items from several of those recipes, seasoning the fish with what I had in the cupboard, and broiling this delicacy for exactly ten minutes on the second rack from the top, I discovered a simple recipe that could outshine every one of them.
Miso, and miso paste, was once so foreign to American cooking it was almost impossible to find—a curiosity you’d only spot in the dusty bottom shelf of a specialty import shop, next to tins of bamboo shoots nobody bought. Not anymore. Now it sits right next to the soy sauce in the asian aisle at Kroger, in a squat plastic tub with a white label. By marinating filets in this combination of ingredients—the miso lending its deep, fermented umami while the sugar caramelizes under the broiler into a dark, crackling crust—you will be absolutely delighted with the results.
Ingredients for 3 people.
3 Sea Bass Filets
1/4 Cup Miso Paste
2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
1 1/2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
2 Tablespoons Rice Wine Vinegar
2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
Sesame Seeds
Directions
- Mix all ingredients in a plastic bag.
- Place filets in bag and refrigerate for 2 to 4 hours.
- Preheat your broiler and then broil the filets on a wire rack 10 inches from top on high for 8-10 minutes. Watch to see that the filets caramelize. They are done once flaky.
- Place filets on a plate, drizzle the lemon juice on top, garnish with sesame seeds and serve.
