Steamed Sea Bass with a Soy Ginger and Chilli Broth

So in keeping with my seasonality post earlier I thought I'd post this dish as we are approaching spring, and sea bass, probably my favourite fish is in season.

Ingredients:
1 Fillet of sea bass cut in half with skin on per person
2 Spring onions sliced diagonally
90ml Mirin Sweet Wine
125ml Rice Vinegar
500ml Soy Sauce
1250ml water
Sesame Oil
1/2 Garlic head peeled and thinly sliced on mandolin
4 Red Chilli's (more if you like it hotter) half de-seed and julienne width ways
2 Thumbs Ginger slice on mandolin and julienne.
1 Litre fish stock
1 Pak Choi per person
1 Cucumber
100ml White Wine Vinegar
100ml Water
100g Sugar
Chervil - Picked
Shiso Cress

To make the broth:
Sweat off the garlic, chilli's and ginger in a splash of sesame oil, be careful not to colour any of the ingredients.
Add the Mirin, Rice Vinegar, Soy Sauce and water and bring to the boil.
Remove from the heat. The broth won't need seasoning as the soy sauce is extremely salty already you may need to adjust the broth by adding more water if it is still too salty.

For the Cucumber:
Mix the 100ml water, sugar and white wine vinegar in a pan and heat until combined, leave to cool.
Peel the cucumber cut into 3 and half length ways and cut into battons. Remove the seeds they are just water and will take away the pickled effect. add the cucumber to the pickling liquor and leave to pickle.

To cook the Sea Bass:
Place the Sea bass and Pak Choi into a steamer and place the steamer over the boiling fish stock.
Leave to cook for 6-7mins until just cooked.

To serve place the Pak Choi into a bowl and carefully place the bass on top. pile 4 battons of cucumber on top of the bass and spoon over the hot soy dressing, sprinkle over some of the chopped spring onion and top off with shisho cress and the picked chervil.

The resulting flavours should be a delicately cooked fish, with a flavour full broth with a spice to it. The cucumber adds a crunchy texture and an acidity to cut through the saltiness of the broth.