Broiled Halibut with Miso Glaze
Miso, mirin and sake—three standard ingredients used in Japanese cooking—enhance the mild sweetness of halibut. Deboning halibut steaks is actually a simple procedure, which creates delightful tender morsels of fish. You can substitute halibut fillet, if desired.
From EatingWell: January/February 1997, The EatingWell Diabetes Cookbook (2005)
Yield: 4 servings
Active Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup shiro miso, (sweet white miso paste) (see Note)
- 2 tablespoons sake, or rice wine (see Notes)
- 2 tablespoons mirin, (see Note)
- 1 1/2 pounds halibut steak
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
- Lime wedges for garnish
- Pickled ginger for garnish, (see Note)
Preparation
- Whisk miso, sake (or rice wine) and mirin in a small bowl into a smooth paste.
- With a large sharp boning knife, remove skin from halibut steaks. Following the natural divisions created by the bone and cartilage, cut fish from the bone to create 4 small boneless steaks (also called medallions). Trim any dark areas.
- Preheat broiler. Line a heavy baking sheet with foil and coat the foil with cooking spray.
- Place the halibut medallions on the prepared baking sheet and brush the tops with half the miso glaze. Broil, 3 to 4 inches from the flame, until golden brown, 4 to 5 minutes. Turn the medallions over and brush with the remaining miso mixture. Sprinkle sesame seeds on top and broil until the fish is opaque in the center, 3 to 4 minutes. Serve with lime wedges and pickled ginger.
- Notes: Miso is fermented soybean paste made by inoculating a mixture of soybeans, salt and grains (usually barley or rice) with koji, a beneficial mold. Aged for up to 3 years, miso is undeniably salty, but a little goes a long way. Shiro miso (sweet or white miso), made with soy and rice, is yellow and milder in flavor; use for soup, salad dressings and sauces for fish or chicken.
- Sake is a dry rice wine generally available where wines are sold. Junmai, a special designation for sake, denotes sake brewed from rice that has been milled less than other special-designation sakes. More pure than other sakes, junmai has no distilled alcohol added. It is characterized by a well-rounded, rich flavor and body and more acidity than most sakes.
- Mirin is a sweet, low-alcohol rice wine essential in Japanese cooking. Look for it in your supremarket with the Asian or gourmet ingredients.
- Pickled ginger—most often served with sushi—can be found in natural-foods stores, Asian markets and in the supermarket produce department.
Nutrition Per serving:
258 calories; 5 g fat (1 g sat, 2 g mono); 54 mg cholesterol; 9 g carbohydrates; 0 g added sugars; 37 g protein; 0 g fiber; 562 mg sodium; 12 mg potassium.
Nutrition Bonus: Selenium (89% daily value), Magnesium (37% dv).
1/2 Carbohydrate Serving
Exchanges: 1/2 other carbohydrate, 5 very lean meat