Sea bass has a buttery, flaky and firm texture.  Combined with its mild flavor, sea bass fillet lends itself to a nice marinate.  Monkey King and I have a weekly “date night dinner” at home where we eat at a leisurely pace after Plumster goes to bed.  I came up with this recipe the night before while rummaging through the fridge, as the key to a leisurely paced dinner required a bit of advanced planning.  The prep time took less than 15 minutes, and cooking time took less than 15 minutes.  Here is the recipe:

EATS: Ginger Lemon Sea Bass

Makes 2 servings

 Ingredients:

For the marinate:

•  2 sea bass fillet
  
•  2 Tsp Mirin rice cooking wine
  
•  1 Tsp low sodium soy sauce
  
•  Drizzle of sesame oil
•  6 slices of fresh ginger,  julienned (the more finely chopped, the more ginger flavor)
  
• 3 cloves of garlic, crushed (ditto)
  
• 1/2 lemon worth of freshly squeezed lemon juice
  
• 2 slices of lemon
• 1 Tsp lemon zest

For the garnish/sauce:

• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 3 scallions, sliced

 Steps:

•  Mix all the marinate ingredients in a glass container
• Place the sea bass fillet in the marinate, and make sure to cover the fillets for more than 6 hours or overnight
  

• Take out the chilled, marinated, sea bass and let sit on the kitchen counter for 10 minutes to bring up the temperature.  I use this time to prep the side dishes
• Heat 1 Tsp of olive oil in the pan in medium heat and sprinkle atop the oil  with some salt to prevent the fish from sticking to the pan
•  Sear the fish on both sides, approximately 40 seconds each side
•  Once the second side is seared, add 1 Tsp of mirin rice cooking wine or chicken broth, turn down the heat to medium low, and place the lid to cover the pan

• Let the fish simmer in the covered pan for about 1 minutes, until done
• Transfer the fish to a plate

• Deglaze the pan with the marinate liquid.  While bubbling, stir fry in the rest of the (non-liquid) marinate, 3 cloves of minced garlic and sliced scallions

I made a side of sautéed Swiss Char with garlic, jelapeño, and a dash of fish sauce.  You may want to pair this dish with a nicely chilled glass of sauvignon blanc or with a Belgium blonde such as Delirium Tremens.  This is a quick, healthy, and simple dish to enjoy on a busy weeknight.  Bon appétit!