Asian-style grilled seabass

It’s end of May! This means summer is just around the corner. Time to take out that Grill and BBQ table you stored away in the storage last year! Let’s ease in the season with some springy, citrusy Asian-inspired grilled fish

When the temperature heats up above 25C, I love having whole fish for dinner. They are light, quick to prepare and perfect for the grill, weekdays or weekend alike. Being Vietnamese, I often use fish sauce for marination or dressing for the fish. It really adds depth and a distinctive fishy flavour to the dish. Combining it with lime, chili, ginger or lemon grass, and coriander and you’ll have a special Asian-inspired fish dish within 15 minutes.

Ingredients – 2 servings

For the sea-bass:

• 2 whole seabass or 2 x 2 filets, about 400gr. Skin on!
• Salt + pepper + chili powder for seasoning
• 1/2 tsp extra verge olive oil for coating

For the chili lime dressing:

• 1.5 tbsp (20ml) fish sauce (Vietnamese is the best!)
• 1 lime, zest then juiced
• 1/4 tsp red chili pepper flakes
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 tsp raw honey OR coconut sugar OR 1 tsp of organic ginger orange jam
• 3 garlic cloved, minced
• 1tbsp ginger, grated
• 1 fresh Thai chili, minced
• 1 tbsp sriracha sauce
• a bunch of coriander (aka cilantro)

Serve on:

I’ve made this so many times, each time with different grains and vegetables depending on what’s on hand. Some of the combi’s are:

• 1/2 cup of cooked brown rice + 1 cup of steamed string beans
• 1/2 cup of cooked mix whole grains + 1 cup of steamed asparagus
• 2 cups of balsamic glazed brussel sprouts

Method

• Slice your seabass into 2 x 2 filets
• Coat the filets with olive oil, season with a few sprinkles of salt, pepper and chili powder. Let them rest for about 10mins
• Grill the fish on the grill or non-stick frying pan for about 6mins each side until the fish is lightly golden

In the meantime, we’ll make the Asian chili lime dressing

• Mix the rest of the ingredients into a bowl
• Mince half of the coriander and add to the bowl
• Mix well. The dressing should have a bursting flavour: the deep saltiness of fish sauce, fresh tanginess of lime, spiciness of chili, and light sweetness of honey/jam/coconut sugar
• Place grains and vegies on the plate, followed by the grilled fish. Pour some generous amount of the chili lime dressing on top
• Garnish with the remainder of coriander

⇒ DIG IN while it’s hot!!!

Nutritional value per serving

(from MyFitnessPal based on manually-added ingredients)

Calories: 325kC/1,360kJ; Fat 13.5g of which saturated 3g; Cholesterol 77mg; Sodium 845mg; Potassium 81mg; Carb 9.4g; Protein 41.2g; Sugar 4.3g