The nice gal at Seattle Fish Company told me that they don’t sell farmed fish and that all of their products are sustainable. I like that a lot – it frees me up from doing homework before I buy and lets me try things I haven’t tried before. I still looked up the Opah at home and it turns out that he’s a bit of a mystery fish, a solitary critter who shows up with the tuna. Researchers don’t seem to know much about the impact of fishing Opah, also called Moonfish, though Seafood Watch marks this as a good fish to eat. It’s a bit high in mercury, though, so hey, quit dumping stuff in my ocean, wouldja? I get my food from there.
I pulled together some odds and ends out of my fridge to make a marinade – miso, hoisin sauce, chili paste, sesame oil, and poured it in the plastic bag that the fish came home in. J. fired up the grill. We decided to test if cooking the fish on foil or directly on the grill makes a difference and it does, it
does. The foil keeps the fish from sticking to the grill and the sauce doesn’t splash through on to the coals. The foil cooked fish still got a nice brown (it’s the one on top in the photo) but it didn’t tear apart when I pulled it off the grill. I have some of that fancy no-stick foil and it does the trick.
The fish sat on the grill for five minutes on each side and it was cooked all the way through without being overdone. To complete the meal, I steamed some broccoli raab and then tossed in a little soy, a little sesame oil. We didn’t care much for the raab, the greens were just too bitter. I’m not sure if this means we got a bad batch of greens or if we just don’t like the flavor. The Opah, however, was delish, wow, with a flavor and texture something between swordfish and tuna – and the steak cooked on foil was noticeably moister than the one cooked directly on the grill. Next time I think I’ll marinate the steaks overnight, or at least over day. I have ambition to do this every time I get my fish, but I get it home and then, you know, stuff happens. It’s hardly a tragedy, but it is nice to have a well marinated piece of seafood.
How much do I love my tiny kettle BBQ just outside the kitchen door? So much. Grill on, fish eaters, grill on. Also, I’m thinking about making up some Fish Wednesday t-shirts, though maybe an apron would be more appropriate.
[tags]Fish Wednesday, Opah, seafood, grilling fish[/tags]
have you heard of pare umbrella? i’m about oto buy an umbrella from them and noticed that they are based out of seattle.very cool umbrellas. i want one, for my mood, in the rain and fog that persists here.
This sounds great. I just picked up some Opah frozen and on sale at Central Market in Shoreline. I had it recently in Hawaii and loved it. I’ll probably just pan fry it because I don’t have a winter BBQ.
Brocolli Rabe can be a bit bitter, but try it this way:
First, blanch it in salted boiling water for about 3 minutes. Then shock it (i.e. drain and plunge into ice water to stop the cooking and preserve the color).
Next, saute garlic and crushed red pepper in EVOO, just until golden. Then add the blanched rabe to the pan and toss until heated through.
The combination of blanching and adding to oil/garlic takes away the bitterness.
Try it, you’ll like it.