Recipe courtesy of G. Garvin

Pan-Seared Chilean Sea Bass with Frisee and Ponzu Butter

  • Level: Intermediate
  • Yield: 4 servings
  • Total: 1 hr
  • Active: 35 min
I created this dish in 2002 when I first learned to make ponzu sauce. The texture of the fish coupled with the salty/sweet ponzu sauce, sweetened with agave and finished with butter, has made this reimagined dish a G. Garvin classic.
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Ingredients

Ponzu Sauce:

1 cup orange juice

1 cup soy sauce 

1 cup vegetable stock 

1 cup rice wine vinegar 

1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar 

1 clove garlic, smashed 

1 orange, quartered 

1/2 stick lemongrass, smashed with back of knife 

Fish:

Four 6-ounce skinless sea bass fillets

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 

Olive oil, for cooking 

Ponzu Butter:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 tablespoon agave nectar 

1 large head frisee, broken into bite-size pieces 

2 tablespoons olive oil 

Juice of 1 lemon

1 teaspoon kosher salt 

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 

Pinch red chile flakes

1/4 cup edible flowers

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
  2. For the ponzu sauce: Combine the orange juice, soy sauce, stock, vinegar, brown sugar, garlic, orange and lemongrass in a large saucepan. Turn the heat to medium-high and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and allow to reduce by a third. Simmer for about 10 minutes. Strain through a chinois or fine-mesh sieve into another saucepan. Keep warm until ready to serve.
  3. For the fish: Sprinkle the sea bass with salt and pepper on both sides. Place a medium nonstick pan over medium-high heat and add 2 tablespoons olive oil. Heat until the oil is hot, then add the sea bass and sear on the first side for 2 to 3 minutes.
  4. Meanwhile, preheat a 10-inch cast-iron pan over medium-high heat and add 2 tablespoons olive oil to coat the pan. Once the sea bass is ready to be flipped, transfer the fish to the cast-iron pan. Allow to start searing, then transfer the pan immediately to the oven to cook through, 7 to 8 minutes.
  5. For the ponzu butter: Add 1 cup ponzu to the same nonstick pan the fish was first seared in and place over high heat. Reduce the sauce by half, about 5 minutes. Add the butter and agave, then whisk to combine and allow the butter to melt and emulsify.
  6. Put the frisee in a bowl. Drizzle with the olive oil and lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.
  7. Spoon some of the sauce onto a platter and top with the sea bass fillets. Top each piece of sea bass with the dressed frisee, red chile flakes and edible flowers.

Let's Get Cooking!

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Anonymous

Outstanding! Husband made this for me on Mother’s Day, and it didn’t disappoint.

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