Coconut Poached Black Bass Recipes

COCONUT POACHED BLACK BASS

Steps:

• Rinse fillets, fish heads and fish bones well (there should be no blood) and pat dry. Refrigerate fillets until ready to use.
• In stock pot or Dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat. Add shallots, sliced chilies, garlic and lemon grass, and cook, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add fish heads and bones, ikan bilis, assam skins, 4 lime leaves, Thai basil stems, Vietnamese coriander stems, cilantro roots and coriander seeds and cook 2 to 3 minutes more. Stir in coconut milk and salt. Simmer, covered, for 1 hour.
• Strain liquid into a bowl, wiping out pot. Add lime juice and zest to coconut mixture; taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.
• Arrange fillets back in the pot and cover with coconut milk mixture. Cook, covered, over low heat, until fish is opaque and just cooked through, 5 to 7 minutes. Meanwhile, remove stem and spine from remaining lime leaves and discard. Julienne leaves. Tear up reserved basil and coriander leaves. Divide fish among shallow bowls and ladle some coconut mixture on top. Garnish with halved chilies, julienned lime leaves, torn herbs and ginger, if desired.

TAMARIND-GLAZED BLACK BASS WITH COCONUT-HERB SALAD

Steps:

• Toast coconut in a dry medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring often, until golden brown, 5-7 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl.
• Wipe out saucepan. Combine oil and shallots in saucepan and set over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring often, until shallots are golden brown and crisp, 8-10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer shallots to paper towels to drain; immediately season with salt.
• Reduce heat to medium and add ginger and garlic to saucepan. Cook, stirring occasionally, until browned in spots, about 4 minutes. Add tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly, until paste splits and color darkens slightly, about 2 minutes. Add tamarind concentrate, honey, and soy sauce and cook, stirring constantly, until glaze is smooth and just beginning to bubble, about 1 minute. Remove pan from heat; taste glaze and season with salt.
• Place a rack in upper third of oven; preheat to 425°F. Place 1 fish on a cutting board and thoroughly pat dry inside and out with paper towels. Using a sharp knife, make slashes crosswise on a diagonal about every 2" along length of body (make sure to cut all the way down to the bones as this will help the fish cook evenly). Turn fish over and repeat process on the other side. Transfer fish to a parchment-lined baking sheet, then repeat with remaining fish.
• Season both fish all over with salt. Brush both sides with about half of the glaze, leaving the garlic and ginger behind. Roast fish, brushing with remaining glaze halfway through, until glaze is sticky and flesh flakes easily with a fork, 16-20 minutes.
• Arrange fish on a large platter or 2 smaller platters and scatter toasted coconut, crispy shallots, chiles, and mint evenly on top. Serve with lime wedges alongside for squeezing over.

ROASTED WHOLE BLACK BASS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Rinse the fish and dry thoroughly with a paper towel. Score each side of the fish 3 to 4 times on a bias, about 1/2-inch deep. Combine the parsley, tarragon and thyme into 1 large bunch with the stems attached, and separate out one-third of the bunch. Finely chop the separated, smaller bunch. Mix with one-quarter of the fennel slices, one-third of the fronds, garlic and capers and 2 of the lemon slices, making a sort of herby citrus marinade. Mix the chopped herb mixture with the olive oil and rub the mixture inside and outside of the fish as well as inside the slits. This will allow the herby citrus flavors to permeate through the fish. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Place half of the remaining herbs, fennel, lemon slices, garlic and capers in a bed on the bottom of a roasting pan and the other half inside the cavity of the fish. Place the fish in a roasting pan. Evenly distribute the wine and butter pats in the pan, and place in the oven. The wine will help keep your fish moist and help steam it, as well as making a great sauce with the butter. Roast until the fish has cooked through, or until the skin is crispy and the fish is flaky, 25 to 30 minutes. Carefully transfer the fish to a serving platter with a bed of the Israeli Couscous (be careful, the fish is tender and can break). Pour the sauce from the pan over the fish and fillet to serve.
• Bring 3 cups salted water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add the couscous, cover and remove from the heat. Allow the couscous to sit until the water is absorbed, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in the currants, fresh herbs, lemon zest and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper and stir in a small glug of olive oil before serving. Yield: 6 servings.

CHILKA-STYLE PAN-SEARED BLACK BASS

Steps:

• First chop all of the above to medium; sweat all ingredients with oil (to cook with no color). Simmer 20-30 minutes, then strain.
• Second cook the ground coriander, turmeric and curry powder for 1-2 minutes. Puree the sake and chicken stock into a hand blender then strain it. Add the cream, coconut milk and butter, then taste.

SEA BASS WITH COCONUT-CURRY SAUCE

Steps:

• Heat oil in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, garlic and curry powder. Sauté mixture until onions are translucent, about 4 minutes. Mix in coconut milk and stock; bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-high and boil until liquid is reduced to thin sauce consistency, about 50 minutes. Add carrots; simmer until crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat; keep warm.
• Preheat broiler. Place fish on baking sheet; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Broil fish until just opaque in center, about 8 minutes. Using metal spatula, transfer fish to plates. Spoon sauce over fish. Sprinkle with green onions.

PARCHMENT-BAKED BLACK BASS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place a 12-ounce bass fillet in center of a 16-by-20-inch piece of parchment. Whisk together 1/2 teaspoon sugar and 3 tablespoons soy sauce; drizzle over fish. Sprinkle with 3 tablespoons julienned fresh ginger. Fold edges to seal. Place on a baking sheet; bake for 12 minutes.