Sweet and spicy sea bass

Name: Sweet and spicy sea bass
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 2
Ingredients: Sea bass (sea bass) gutted 1; Fine salt to taste; Rice wine 4 tbsp; Fresh ginger 1 oz; Garlic 3 cloves; White wine vinegar 1 spoonful; Sesame oil 1 spoonful; Hot sauce 3 ½ tbsp; Soy sauce 4 tsp; Sugar 1 spoonful; Water 2.7 oz; Potato starch 2 ½ tbsp; Peanut seed oil 4 ¼ cups; Spring onions to taste

Difficulty: Easy
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 15 min
Serving: 2
Cost: Average
Note + 30 minutes resting in the fridge

PRESENTATION

Recipe by
Rosy Chin

Sweet and spicy sea bass gets its character from a thick, velvety sauce built on white wine vinegar, hot sauce, and sugar — reduced until the three pull together into something bold and cohesive. The branzino is fried whole before it meets that sauce, a step the technique depends on: the crust seals in moisture, so the flesh stays tender and succulent even under an assertive coating.

Branzino is delicate by nature, and that contrast is the point. The sauce — sharp, sweet, and pungent in equal measure — clings rather than pools, coating each piece without overwhelming the fish beneath it. The flavor base draws from Asian condiment traditions, where vinegar and hot sauce sharpen each other before sugar brings them back into balance — a combination that works particularly well against the mild, clean flesh of sea bass.

INGREDIENTS

Sea bass (sea bass) 1 - gutted

Fine salt to taste

Rice wine 4 tbsp (60 g)

Fresh ginger 1 oz (30 g)

For the sauce: Garlic 3 cloves; White wine vinegar 1 spoonful; Sesame oil 1 spoonful; Hot sauce 3 ½ tbsp (50 g); Soy sauce 4 tsp (20 g); Sugar 1 spoonful; Water 2.7 oz (80 g); Potato starch 2 ½ tbsp (20 g)

For frying: Peanut seed oil 4 ¼ cups (1 l)

To garnish: Spring onions to taste

Preparation

How to prepare Sweet and spicy sea bass

To prepare the sweet and spicy sea bass, scale the fish starting from the tail toward the head, making sure to remove all scales carefully near the dorsal fin and under the belly. Trim the fins 1 and make diagonal slashes 2 on both sides of the fish 3.

Peel the ginger 4 and slice it 5. Now place the sea bass in a bowl and season it with salt 6.

Pour the rice wine 7 over the fish and add the ginger 8, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes to let it absorb the flavors 9.

Meanwhile, peel and finely chop the garlic cloves 10 and toss them in a small bowl with the vinegar 11, stirring to season 12.

In the meantime, heat neutral vegetable oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Drain and pat the marinated sea bass dry with paper towels 13. Gently place the sea bass in the pan and fry it 20 seconds per side 14 15.

Transfer the fish to a plate and set aside 16. Heat another pan (a wok works well), sauté the marinated garlic 17, then add four tablespoons of chili sauce 18 and the sugar.

Add the soy sauce as well 19, stir in the sesame oil 20 and loosen the mixture with about 3 1/2 tablespoons (50 g) of water 21.

Return the sea bass to the pan with this dressing 22 and coat the surface of the fish with the spicy sauce, letting it cook for two minutes over low heat. Make a slurry by mixing about 2 tablespoons (30 g) of water with the cornstarch 2334.

Transfer the sea bass to the serving plate 25 and add the water-and-cornstarch mixture to the remaining sauce in the pan 26 to thicken it over low heat 27.

To finish the dish, pour the thickened sauce 28 over the sea bass 29 and garnish with sliced scallions. The sweet and spicy sea bass is ready to be served 30.