Steamed Striped Bass With
Vegetables and Spicy Garlic Sauce
NOBU MATSUHISA
NEXT DOOR NOBU
Serves two to three.

1 2-pound whole striped bass, gutted and scaled (sea bass can be substituted)

Salt and freshly ground black
pepper

8 ounces assorted vegetables
(asparagus, broccoli,
haricots verts, onion, and
green pepper) cut into
uniform bite-size pieces

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 clove garlic, sliced thin

1 and 1/2 tablespoons chili-garlic
paste (Lee Kum Kee brand;
available in Asian markets)

1/2 cup flamed sake (heat sake,
then light with a match to
burn off alcohol until flame
goes out)

1/4 cup light soy sauce

1 teaspoon sesame seeds

Score the fish diagonally three times on each side with a sharp knife, and season with salt and pepper. Place the fish on a plate and put in a bamboo or other steamer (covered) over medium heat for 12 to 15 minutes.

While the fish is cooking, blanch the asparagus in boiling salted water for about 45 seconds. Drain and plunge asparagus into a bowl of ice water. Repeat with the broccoli (about 45 seconds) and haricots verts (about 30 seconds).

Heat oil in a sauté pan over a medium-high flame, add the garlic, and sauté until it's golden. Remove the garlic from the oil and reserve. Add onions and peppers, and sauté until onions are translucent, then add the blanched vegetables. Add the chili-garlic paste, and continue to sauté briefly. Add the flamed sake and soy sauce, and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Arrange the fish on a large plate, and top with the vegetables. Pour the remaining sauce over the top, and garnish with sautéed garlic and sesame seeds. Serve with rice.

Note: If you don't have a large steamer, put 1 inch of boiling water in a large roasting pan. Invert a saucer in the bottom to support the fish plate, and cover with foil.

Grilled Foil-Wrapped Bluefish
RICK MOONEN
OCEANA
Serves six.

3 medium red onions, peeled and sliced thick

6 plum tomatoes, ends trimmed, sliced in thirds

3 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced thin

1 tablespoon thyme leaves

Kosher salt and freshly ground white pepper

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/3 cup chopped shallots

1/3 cup capers, strained

1/2 cup Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon green peppercorns

14 cup prepared horseradish, drained

1/3 cup chopped fresh dill

1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley

14 cup soy sauce

2 teaspoons lemon juice

6 6-ounce day-boat bluefish fillets, skinned and dark meat removed

Applewood or cherrywood chips, soaked in water

Prepare a medium-hot grill (if cooking indoors, preheat a cast-iron sauté pan until it is very hot). Arrange the onion and tomato slices in one layer on a cookie sheet or in a roasting pan, and sprinkle with garlic and thyme. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle with the olive oil. Allow to marinate for 30 minutes.

Remove tomato and onion from the marinade, allowing excess oil to drip off, reserving marinade. Place the slices over the hot coals and cook until charred (tomatoes and onions will char in the dry pan as well). Return the slices to the marinade, and set aside until ready to serve. (May be prepared in advance up to this point; cover and refrigerate in the marinade overnight, allowing them to return to room temperature before serving.) Maintain the grill heat for the fish fillets.

Combine in a food processor the shallots, capers, mustard, peppercorns, and horseradish, and process until puréed. Add the dill and parsley, and pulse a few times to combine. Set aside.

Mix the soy sauce and lemon juice in a small bowl, and brush each fillet generously on both sides with the mixture. Cut 12 pieces of aluminum foil, approximately 15 inches square, to make six 2-layer packets. On the middle of each double-layered square, arrange equal amounts of tomato and onion, and drizzle with remaining marinade. Top with one seasoned bluefish fillet, and spread equal portions of the shallot-caper mixture over each fillet. Bringing two sides of the foil together above the fish, seal and roll down close to the food. Pinch the ends closed, and fold once or twice to seal tightly.

Move the coals to one side of the grill. Transfer the foil packets to the grill away from hot coals, cover the grill, and cook for 15 minutes. Add some wet cherry or apple chips to the hot coals. Open the packets, cover the grill, and continue cooking for 3 to 5 minutes.

(Alternatively, preheat the oven to 500 degrees, and place the packets in the oven for 18 minutes. Open and continue cooking for 4 to 5 minutes to brown.)