Sake-Miso Marinated Striped Bass

My sushi man kept grabbing pieces off the cutting board- 6 and gobbled them up! He also ate all 4 on the plate above. I didn't mind at all- he was actually eating raw vegetables :D
In this pic, he gave "2 thumbs up"!

Sake-Miso Marinated Striped Bass
With Wasabi Oil, Soy Syrup and Vegetarian Soba Noodle Sushi
Recipe adapted from Ming Tsai (he uses Alaskan Butterfish)

Serves 2

Marinade:
1/2 cup light miso (shiro-miso)
1/4 cup mirin (sweet Japanese rice wine)
1/4 cup sake
1/2 Tb finely chopped fresh ginger
1/4 cup grapeseed oil
2 Tb sugar
2 6oz filets of scaled Striped Bass (or any size that appeals, mine was probably 9 oz)

In a medium nonreactive bowl, combine the miso, mirin, sake, ginger, grapeseed oil and sugar and stir to blend. Add the bass, turn to coat and marinate, covered and refrigerated, overnight, or at least 8-12 hours.

Wipe the marinade off with paper towels.

Score the fish skin in 3/4" increments and then crosswise. This prevents it from curling up during cooking.

Preheat the oven at 400º, heat an oven-safe skillet on medium-high. I use a well seasoned cast iron skillet. It is fine to use a non oven proof skillet then transfer the fish to an oven safe dish.

Once pan is heated (allow 5 minutes over gas heat), drizzle in grapeseed oil, enough to cover the area where the fish will cook.

Sear the fish, skin side down, for 3-4 minutes, or until brown. Transfer to oven and cook for an additional 4 minutes (8 minutes per 1" of thickness).

Vegetarian Soba Noodle Sushi

Serves 2

1/4 pound dried soba noodles
1/8 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/8 cup chopped scallions, green parts only
1 Tb soy sauce
1/2 Tb finely chopped ginger
1 Tb rice vinegar
1 Tb Wasabi Oil (recipe below)
2 Tb chopped pickled ginger (gari)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 sheets toasted nori (sheets used to roll sushi)
1/2 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and julienned
1/4 red bell pepper, cored, seeded and julienned
1/4 yellow bell pepper, cored, seeded and julienned
5 ounces Wakame (seaweed) salad (optional: I omitted)
Bamboo Sushi rolling mat
Freshly ground black pepper
Soy Syrup for drizzling (recipe below)
1 Tb toasted sesame seeds

To make the soba noodles, bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Fill a medium bowl with water and add ice. Add the noodles to the boiling water and cook until slightly softer than al dente, about 8 minutes. Drain and transfer the noodles to the ice water. When cold, drain well. In a large bowl, combine the noodles, cilantro, scallions, soy sauce, chopped ginger, vinegar, wasabi oil and 2 tablespoons of the pickled ginger and toss to blend. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Have a small bowl of water handy. Place a sheet of nori shiny side down on the rolling mat with a long edge towards you. Evenly spread a layer of the noodles mixture on the bottom half of the nori and top the upper third of the mixture with 3 to 4 strips of cucumber and 2 pieces of each of the peppers. To roll, lift the mat, compressing it against the filling as you roll the bottom edge in on itself. Continue rolling toward the top edge until only 1/4-inch of the nori remains unrolled. Moisten a finger and wet the edge of the nori. Press the mat to seal the roll. Allow the roll to rest, seam side down, for 2 minutes. Repeat with the remaining nori and filling ingredients. Cover the rolls lightly with plastic wrap and set aside.

When ready to serve, cut each roll into 5 pieces, 3 straight across and 2 diagonally.

Divide the sushi pieces among 2 plates. Add a small mound of the seaweed salad, if using, to each and top each with a piece of the Sake-Miso Fish. Drizzle over the soy syrup and wasabi oil (see recipes below), garnish with the sesame seeds and remaining pickled ginger.

Wasabi Oil

Makes 1/2 cup (keep remaining in refrigerator for up to 2 weeks)

1/4 cup wasabi powder
1 tablespoon mirin (Japanese sweet sake)
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 cup grapeseed oil

In a small stainless-steel bowl, combine the wasabi powder, mirin and sugar and whisk to blend. Add a little less than 1/2 cup of water gradually, whisking, until a pancake batter-like puree is formed. Whisk in the oil. Let stand for 10 minutes before using.

Soy Syrup

Makes 1 cup (keep remaining in refrigerator for up to 2 weeks – it’s great drizzled on steamed vegetables too!)

1 cups soy sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
Juice of 1/2 a lime

In a medium saucepan, combine the soy sauce, brown sugar and lime juice. Bring to a boil slowly over medium heat, turn down the heat and reduce the mixture by three-fourths or until syrupy, about 15 minutes. I used a funnel to transfer it to an empty soy sauce jar.

Just got my salt water rod ready for surf casting, hopefully I'll catch a keeper I can cook myself (and not pay $17.99/lb!).....