Grilled Miso Seabass and Baby Bok Choy

We had a veritable August cold front here this week — highs merely in the low 90’s — and so I felt like heating up the grill for the first time in ages. (It was the gas grill but — Big Green Egg fans, don’t despair — I do plan to share some BGE recipes soon.) I spent the past week eating my way through Portland (Pok Pok = nomnom!) and so something on the healthy side seemed in order. Since I am a sucker for petite vegetables, I purchased some baby bok choy and went to check out the fish counter, where I settled on some Corvina seabass. I later learned that this is an over fished species (my environmental bad) so I would recommend Branzino, Barramundi, or any mild whitefish. I had eaten miso-glazed fish in restaurants before and decided to put to use some brown miso hanging out in the back of my fridge for both the seabass and the bok choy. The results were tasty and made for a light yet satisfying dinner.

Grilled Miso Seabass and Baby Bok Choy

Ingredients

• 1.25 lbs seabass or other mild whitefish
• 4 small bok choy, halved and leafy ends trimmed
• 1/3 cup miso
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1/4 cup mirin (I used Riesling instead but you can also use white with a little sugar mixed in)

Directions

Mix miso, brown sugar, sesame oil, and mirin/wine in a small bowl. Arrange the bok choy on a plate and baste generously with the miso glaze.

Arrange 3-4 sheets of heavy duty foil (slightly larger than your fish fillets) on top of each other and crimp the edges. Spray with oil and lay your fish on top. Baste with remainder of miso glaze.

Heat your grill up in two zones — one zone should be medium-high and the other low-medium. When the overall grill temp is near 400 degrees, place the aluminum foil with the fish on the hotter area of the grill and the baby bok choy (cut side down) directly on the cooler area of the grill.

After six minutes, flip the baby bok choy. Six more minutes, and both the fish and bok choy should be cooked and ready to remove from the grill. Allow to rest for a few minutes.

I served the fish and bok choy over a stir fry of brown rice, quinoa, and vegetables but you could use your favorite rice. (I almost always cheat with a little Uncle Ben’s Ready Rice.) Doesn’t it look purty?

All in, this is a quick and healthy meal that you can have on the table in 20 minutes. Perfect for the more hectic fall days ahead!

TGIM: Easy Whisky Cocktail

I’ve been meaning to share my go-to cocktail and, if your life has been anything like mine lately and/or if you have lovely patio weather right now like we do here in Texas, a go-to cocktail is what you need!

I have to admit I was slow to get on the whisky bandwagon but I gradually found myself drinking whisky more in the winter (ah, can’t beat a hot toddy) and then, one day when I was out of rum for this super simple drink combo, I reached for some Canadian Club. After a few sips (and maybe several more), I decided I actually preferred whisky. All this to say that if you are not a whisky drinker, you should still give this a shot. It is light and refreshing and not too sweet. (Hint: The key is good ginger ale.)

Easy Whisky Cocktail

Fill a lowball glass with crushed or cube ice and pour in 2 oz. of whisky (I like Canadian Club or Maker’s Mark.) Top off with Reed’s Ginger Ale and squeeze in 1/4 of a large lime. Stir gently and commence to sippin!