Black Bass With Green Tea Tempura

Recipe Ingredients

		Tempura Batter
1		Egg
1 cup	198g / 7oz	Club soda
1 cup	62g / 2.2oz	Quick-mixing flour (Wondra)
		Salt - to taste
		Sauce
1		Red bell pepper - roughly chopped (large)
2		Long green chiles - stemmed, seeded,
		And roughly chopped
3 tablespoons	45ml	Sugar
1/2 cup	118ml	White vinegar
3		Garlic cloves
1 1/2 tablespoons	22ml	Fish sauce
1/3 cup	78ml	Honey
		Juice of 1-1/2 limes
1 cup	237ml	Cubed fresh pineapple
1		Ginger root - (1" long) - peeled, chopped
1/4 cup	82g / 2.9oz	Elderflower syrup
		= (found at Asian and specialty markets)
1/4 cup	59ml	Red wine vinegar
1/2 tablespoon	7.5ml	Salt
		Assembly
		Oil - for frying
6		Skinless black sea bass filets - - (5 oz ea)
		= (striped bass may be substituted)
		Fleur de sel - to taste
		Freshly-ground white pepper - to taste
6 tablespoons	90ml	Toasted pine nuts - coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons	30ml	Thinly sliced ginger root - in matchsticks
		Matcha (green tea powder) - for garnish
		= (found at Asian and specialty markets)

Recipe Instructions

For the Tempura Batter: Combine the egg, club soda and flour and whisk just until incorporated (do not over-mix). Season with salt to taste. Store the tempura batter in the refrigerator until cold and ready to use.

For the Sauce: Combine the pepper, chiles, sugar, white vinegar, garlic and fish sauce in a blender until minced but not pureed. Add the honey and lime juice. Mix well. Add the pineapple, ginger, elderflower syrup, red wine vinegar and salt. Puree until smooth. Strain through a fine sieve, pressing on the ingredients with the back of a spoon, into a saucepan. Simmer over medium heat until reduced to about 2 cups, about 25 minutes. Keep warm.

For Assembly: Heat the oven to 425 degrees. Heat 1/2 cup of oil in a 10-inch skillet to 350 degrees.

Season the filets with fleur de sel and white pepper to taste. Dip one side of each filet in the tempura batter. Working in 2 batches, fry the fish tempura-side down until golden brown, 2 minutes. Remove to a baking sheet and place tempura-side up.

Fry the second batch, adding more oil if needed, and place on the baking sheet. Bake until the center of the fish is opaque, about 3 minutes.

To serve, sprinkle the pine nuts and ginger on each of 6 plates. Set the filets on top, then ladle the sauce around the fish and sprinkle with green tea powder.

This recipe yields 6 servings.

Each serving: 526 calories; 471 mg. sodium; 155 mg. cholesterol; 18 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 60 grams carbohydrates; 33 grams protein; 2 grams fiber.

Source:
The Los Angeles Times, 03-19-2003

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