Sunday, September 21, 2008
Food, Recipes

The life aquatic

Miso-glazed sea bass

Melissa Libby & Associates

By John Metz

As the executive chef and owner of Aqua Blue in Roswell, I spend a lot of my time working with my chef de cuisine Kein Sam to make our menu stand out in a city full of great restaurants. Aqua Blue brings chef-driven, global cuisine to Atlanta, and the menu boasts the freshest, seasonal ingredients from around the world served in an elegant and exciting atmosphere giving diners more than just a meal but a dining experience. In my kitchen, I tie a lot of Asian influences into otherwise typically American dishes. Of course, we always focus on fresh ingredients, but I also try to impart something unique and surprising to dishes many diners may think they know. One of my favorite ingredients for bringing a hint of Asian flavor to dishes is miso.

Miso is a red or white paste of fermented soya (soy bean) mixed with salt and grain that the Japanese use as a condiment. The Japanese call soya daizu. I first was introduced to the product when traveling through Asia, where I had the good fortune to be able to sample some key local flavors and favorites in Tokyo and Osaka. I love to use this paste as not only a condiment but also as a base for sauces, soups and marinades or for pickling meats and vegetables.

Miso is still very widely used in Japan, both in traditional and modern cooking, and has been gaining worldwide interest. In the past decade, we have seen an explosion of interest in foreign culinary flavors. Miso, ponzu sauce and hoisin sauce are all now readily available in most grocery stores. Once you start to experiment with these surprising Asian flavors, you’ll be shocked at all the uses you’ll find. Everything from simmering miso and vegetable broth to create miso soup to adding ponzu to a simple vinaigrette for a fresh Asian salad dressing is possible.

Miso is typically salty, but its flavor and aroma depend on various factors in the ingredients and fermentation process. Different varieties of miso have been described as salty, sweet, earthy, fruity and savory, and there is an extremely wide variety of miso available. One of my all time favorite dishes to use miso in is a fresh fish entrée, because it imparts such a unique flavor when cooked properly. I have been using miso at Aqua Blue since we opened seven years ago, and on our current menu, you’ll find miso glazed sea bass listed as one of our chef specialties. Chef Kein Sam, with his Vietnamese and Chinese heritage, has helped perfect these recipes and continues to keep our global flavors current.

For this particular dish, we start with the freshest Chilean sea bass, marinated in our signature Miso glaze for about two hours. The glaze consists of white miso paste, sugar, Japanese rice wine and sake. Before removing it from the marinade, we baste the fish with the sauce. Then, in a screaming hot pan, we sear the fish until a perfectly caramelized crust is formed. To finish the plate, we use a light wild mushroom broth and serve it with baby bok choy and sautéed spinach. The dish is fresh and light, high in protein and very healthy. I personally like to pair it with a light pinot noir for a perfect match.

This dish is a perfect fit for Aqua Blue with our Asian culinary influence. From the Chinese Hong Kong-style fish sauce, to our Thai red curry sauce on the cashew halibut, or our Japanese blue-ribbon sushi, I think we have taken some of the best of the Asian influences and created specialties unique to Aqua Blue. SP
John Metz is executive chef and owner of Aqua Blue, which is located at 1564 Holcomb Bridge Road in Roswell. 770-643-8886. www.aquablueatl.com.

MISO-GLAZED SEA BASS

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 6 tablespoons white miso*
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup mirin (sweet Japanese rice wine)*
• 1/4 cup sake
• 4 6-ounce sea bass fillets, 3/4 inch thick

Instructions:

Mix the first four ingredients in a shallow baking dish. Add fish and turn to coat. Cover and refrigerate 2 to 4 hours. Baste the fish before removing from marinade. Place in hot sauté pan. Sear the presentation side until evenly caramelized golden brown. Flip, and place in 400 degree F. oven until fully cooked. Remove and serve.

*Available at Japanese markets, specialty food stores and in the Asian foods section of some supermarkets.