SCHOOL fish OF COOKING
Pros reveal prep so simple, any nervous amateur can do it
Years spent answering readers' queries have made me aware that many home cooks are intimidated by fish cookery. Some find a solution by repeatedly turning to the same one or two fish dishes. Of course, there are many who have honed their abilities, consistently searching for new and different ways to showcase fish.
For those with delicious seafood dreams, here are fish-centric recipes I have learned while cooking in my kitchen with talented chefs. They are dishes that I rely on when entertaining. No cooking is required for the tartare. A quick sear followed by a short time in a hot oven is needed for the sea bass. The red pepper relish is a condiment that can deliciously accompany everything from chicken to pork to vegetables. And yes, sea bass, too.
Chef Michael Mina
First up, celebrity chef Michael Mina's irresistible tartare of ahi tuna. It's a dish he perfected decades ago when he opened his first restaurant, Aqua, in San Francisco. Now, as the founder of the Mina Group (a restaurant management company), he operates over 30 chef-driven eateries worldwide.
Deviating from standard beef-centric tartare ingredients, he riffs on the raw theme using sashimi-grade ahi along with roasted chile oil, Asian pears, fresh jalapeños, pine nuts and fresh mint. In his restaurants he serves the dish composed on the plate; the finely diced fish is pressed into a ring mold to leave it in a tidy disc when the mold is removed. A tiny quail egg yolk sits atop the fish while components in orderly piles surround it.
For making at home, Mina told me it would be easier to mix it in one big batch and form the mixture on plates, pushing it with the back of a spoon into a triangle or rectangle shape.
Chef Mike Doctulero
The executive chef and owner of Mah Jongs by Chef Mike at South Coast Plaza shared the secrets to his irresistible sake kasu sea bass. At the time, he was the executive chef at the now-shuttered Scott's Restaurant & Bar in Costa Mesa, a post he held for many years.
Doctulero used Chilean sea bass fillets in the dish, but other firm-fleshed fish, such as black cod (sablefish), can be substituted; in a pinch I've used salmon and it is delicious as well. The fillets marinate in a sake kasu mixture. Sake kasu is the lees (residual yeast) left over from sake production. Once marinated, the fish is beautifully seared and then baked. It is served with sushi rice, sauteed spinach and a tangy relish. It's an overthe-moon delicious combination of flavors.
Turn on some great music and, if you like, pour a glass of wine. Relax and enjoy the culinary fun. No fish fear.