Seabass with Aromatic Broth

This Seabass with aromatic broth is absolutely delicious, full of flavours and you are going to love it!

One of the perks of being a food professional and food photographer is that you get to work with some amazing people from the industry. I have been working with Hai Sia Seafood Company based in Singapore and they have some really good seafood produce.

A few days ago they offered me the fresh catch of Seabass fish which is one of my favourite fishes. In Singapore often this fish has a muddy taste and that just ruins dishes. But when I got this fresh catch, I decided to make this uber flavourful and packed with amazing flavours dish. When I started developing this recipe, I had a rough idea about what I wanted but I didn’t quite know how it is going to go. This dish is a melange of beautiful and sort of unusual flavours and it is absolutely delectable!

For this Seabass with aromatic broth, I wanted to mix flavours such as kaffir lime leaves and lemongrass from South Asian Cuisine and flavours such as saffron, Pernod and smoked paprika from Mediterranean Cuisine!

It is a complete fusion and worked beautifully well. The amalgamation of the flavours from these cuisines blends really well.

I served this Seabass with Aromatic Broth with a baguette but you can serve it as is. Nevertheless do give this wonderful recipe a try.

If you like fish recipes then do check this Hoki Fish Recipe.

If you are based in Singapore, you can buy the Hai Sia Seafood Produce on Redmart and Amazon.

Ingredients for the broth:

• 2 litres water
• 50g lemongrass slightly bashed
• 3 kaffir lime leaves
• 10g coriander stems with roots
• Salt to taste
• A few shallot peels
• Tomato seeds and pulp
• 2 vegetable cubes or 1 tbsp vegetable stock powder

Ingredients for fish:

• 2 fish fillet cut in squares
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp sweet red chilli powder or paprika
• Salt to taste
• 10g parsley
• 1 banana shallot small diced
• 1 small stick or ¼ cup celery small diced
• 1 small tomato deseeded and small diced (use the pulp and seed for the broth)
• 150g white wine
• 6-7 mussels or cockles
• A few strands of saffron
• Salt to taste
• 1 tbsp pernod
• 2 tbsp Oil for cooking

Instructions:

For the broth mix all the ingredients and boil them over medium heat for 30-45 minutes. Strain it through chinois. Keep it warm.

Marinate the fish with salt, smoked paprika and paprika.

Finely chopped parsley, add in 1 tsp olive oil and salt to it. Keep it aside.

Wash the mussels or cockles under cold water and scrub them well.

In a pan heat 2 tsp oil and add in the shallots. Saute for 2 minutes. Add in the celery, continue to cook for another minute.

Add in the wine on a high flame and cook till evaporated. Add in the mussels and cook them for 3 minutes. Take them out using a slotted spoon and keep them warm.