Pan-grilled Citrus Yellowtail
Serves 2
2 4-ounce Hawaiian yellowtail fillets [or other fish—see Kitchen Notes]
Marinade:
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
4 teaspoons finely chopped fresh ginger
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1/3 cup soy sauce
Mix together the marinade ingredients. Choose a bowl with a bottom
just large enough to hold the fillets closely side by side and set the
fish in it. Pour the marinade over all. Let everything sit for ten
minutes [see Kitchen Notes]. Immediately pour off and discard the
marinade. Pat the fillets gently dry.
Heat a grill pan over high heat, then brush it generously with canola
or walnut oil. When the pan is nice and hot (a drop of water should
skitter around and then vanish), lay the fillets on the pan—position the
fish to make handsome grill marks. Cook on the first side about 3
minutes; then gently turn and cook on the other side 2 or 3 minutes.
Serve, along with the soba noodle salad.
Kitchen Notes
The original recipe, for snapper, emphasizes that more than 10
minutes of marinating will make the fish mushy and fragile. Ten minutes
left the yellowtail, which is far denser than snapper, delicately
infused with citrus and ginger taste—the soy barely made an
impression—and the outcome was wonderful. If you are in the mood for a
more assertive flavor and are using a fish as dense as yellowtail (as
compared to softer fish like snapper or haddock), I would consider
extending the marinating time a little.
I am planning to try this marinade with white-fleshed fish, and of
course it sounds like a natural for salmon. But I don’t think it would
work out well with the more intensely flavored fish, like tuna,
mackerel, or mahi mahi.
And now the noodles. Ming Tsai’s Soba Noodle Sushi
recipe is the inspiration for my soba noodle salad, which makes an
excellent companion to this way of cooking fish. His original recipe,
also in Blue Ginger ,
includes a host of additional ingredients, such as wakame seaweed,
pickled ginger and cucumber; once the noodle portion of the dish is
prepared, the whole thing is neatly rolled up in nori, allowed to rest
and sliced into sushi pieces.
This salad is a greatly foreshortened version of that dish—something
to throw together quickly and happily. Despite the assertive
ingredients—wasabi, cilantro, buckwheat noodles—it is wonderfully light
and refreshing, a partner not a competitor to the rest of the meal. It
also stands alone very nicely—the leftovers became my lunch the next
day.
Soba Noodle Salad
Generously serves 2
1/2 pound dried soba noodles
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro [reserve a few whole leaves for garnishing the top]
1/4 cup finely chopped green part of scallions
1 red bell pepper, finely slivered [reserve a few slivers for garnish]
Dressing:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/8 teaspoon wasabi powder
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons sushi vinegar
1 tablespoon sherry
2 teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, finely chopped
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil and cook the soba noodles
until they are just beyond al dente. Immediately drain them and
transfer them to a large bowl of iced water. Swirl the noodles in the
iced water until the noodles are cold; then toss out any remaining ice
cubes and drain the noodles well.
While the noodles are cooking, whisk together the ingredients for the dressing.
Transfer noodles to a serving bowl. Pour over the dressing and gently
toss. Add the vegetables, grind a little black pepper over everything
and gently fold it all together. Garnish with the reserved cilantro
leaves and bell pepper slivers, and serve.
Kitchen notes
As is, this salad can stand on its own as a simple lunch, and of course
it is totally vegan friendly. I intend to try this again adding finely
minced lemon grass to the dressing and gently folding in extra-firm,
sautéed tofu in the mixing stage. The next time, I think I’ll also add a
bit more wasabi powder to the dressing—just a little bit more.
Recipe courtesy of Blue Kitchen
https://blue-kitchen.com/2008/01/30/two-delicious-...
|
