Tiny Urban Kitchen

Exploring Food from Boston to Hong Kong and Beyond

  • About Me
  • Travel
  • Recipes
  • Michelin
  • Subscribe
  • Taiwanese
menu icon
go to homepage
  • About Me
  • Travel
  • Recipes
  • Michelin
  • Subscribe
  • Taiwanese
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • About Me
    • Travel
    • Recipes
    • Michelin
    • Subscribe
    • Taiwanese
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • ×
    • Michael Chiarelli Ottimo Yountville California
      Bottega + Ottimo Yountville
    • Ciccio Yountville California
      Ciccio Yountville
    • Charter Oak St. Helena Napa Valley California
      Charter Oak St. Helena Napa Valley California
    • Cole’s Chop House Napa California
      Cole's Chop House Napa California
    • Compline Restaurant Napa California
      Compline Restaurant + Wine Shop Napa
    • Napa, California
      Thomas Keller's La Calenda: A Tribute {Now Closed}
    • Ad Hoc Thomas Keller Brunch Yountville California
      Thomas Keller Ad Hoc + Addendum + Bouchon Bakery
    • Mandalay San Francisco
      Mandalay San Francisco (Burmese Food)
    • Boulettes Larder Ferry Building San Francisco
      Boulette Larder (Ferry Building) San Francisco
    • Bodega SF California (Vietnamese)
      Bodega SF (Modern Vietnamese)
    • Tselog Daly City California
      Tselogs (Filipino food) Daly City California
    • Mesa by José Avillez Macau
      Mesa by José Avillez Macau
    Home » Cuisine » Asian » Chinese

    Seared Sea Bass with Bok Choy and Yuzu Mushroom Broth

    Published: Feb 29, 2012 · Modified: Oct 27, 2014 by Jennifer Che


    As a person who travels and eats quite a bit, I always struggle with the same issue of "feeling gross."

    You know the feeling. You travel to some amazing destination so you want to take advantage as much as possible of the food there. You plan out your breakfasts, lunches, and dinners. Even though you aren't even hungry by the next meal, you soldier on.

    I typically try to compensate by walking a TON during my trips. Still, after a few days of non-stop eating, I'm usually ready to go home, cook healthy and simple "spa food", and let my stomach take a break.

    This seared sea bass dish is something I concocted recently. It's based off of other broth-based fish dishes I've had at restaurants, and the flavors are inspired by my first, unforgettable encounter with yuzu kosho, now one of my new favorite sauces.

    It's clean, light and healthy. At the same time, it's complex and full of interesting flavors. I think it's the perfect antidote to a heavy week of eating out.

    The broth served with the fish is based off of a dashi stock. Dashi is a fundamental seaweed based stock used often in Japanese cooking. I think it's one of the easiest and quickest stocks to make from scratch, as long as you have two key ingredients: kastuobushi (dried bonito flakes shown on left) and kombu (dried seaweed shown on right).

    The stuff lasts forever, so I always just keep some on hand in the "pantry" (aka the shelf in the basement).

    It's so easy to make this broth. Just soak the kombu in cold water for about 20 minutes. Bring the water to a boil.

    Once boiling, just add the bonito flakes, turn off the heat, and let it sit for about 4 minutes.

    Strain and use! So easy! For an even easier method, just soak everything in cold water overnight and drain the next morning.

    The key ingredient in this zingy, flavorful broth is the addition of yuzu kosho. Yuzu kosho is a Japanese seasoning made from yuzu zest, chili peppers, and salt. Yuzu is a Japanese citrus that looks like a lime but is much more floral in its aroma. I first discovered yuzu kosho at a little izakaya in Tokyo where they added it to their dashi-based shabu shabu broth.

    I was floored by the intense floral, spicy, and citrusy notes. Even though I was stuffed from the rest of the meal, I couldn't stop sipping at the fantastic yuzu-infused shabu broth.

    Inspired by that meal, I decided to add yuzu kosho to my homemade dashi broth. To incorporate yet another dimension of umami, I also included some mushroom broth from these rehydrated morel mushrooms.

    On the side, I sauteed some baby bok choy, though  you could really use any sort of green. Try pea tendrils, or maybe spinach. Any relatively neutral leafy green should work pretty well.

    Finally, pan fry some fish to serve on top.

    Homemade Dashi Broth
    4 inch piece of kombu (dried seaweed)
    ½ cup katsuobushi (dried fish flakes)
    3-4 cups water

    Soak the kombu in a pot of cold water for about 20 minutes. Bring the water to a boil. Once boiling, add the bonito flakes, turn off the heat, and let sit for 4 minutes. Strain and use.

    Mushroom Broth
    Soak dried mushrooms in hot water for about 10-15 minutes. Remove mushrooms and reserve for another use (or you can saute them and serve them alongside the bok choy!).

    Yuzu Dashi Mushroom Broth
    3 cups dashi broth
    ½ cup mushroom broth
    1-2 T soy sauce
    1-2 teaspoon yuzu kosho

    Combine all ingredients in a pot and heat under just under boiling. Keep warm until ready to plate.

    Pan Fried Fish
    1 lb white, firm fleshed fish (e.g., sea bass, cod), cut into single serving sizes

    Heat a skillet on high heat with 1-2 T of canola oil until the oil is smoking hot. Sear fish in a pan for about 2-3 minutes and then flip and sear for another 2-3 minutes, or until the fish is done to your liking (I tend to like fish more on the semi-rare side!). In a separate wok, saute baby bok choy with a little bit of dried shrimp and dashi soup base (recipe here).

    To plate, layer baby bok choy on the bottom and fish on top. Pour in the broth on the side, and serve!
    Enjoy!!

    ©2009-2014 Tiny Urban Kitchen
    All Rights Reserved

    More Asian

    • Raohe Night Market Taipei
      Raohe Night Market Taipei Taiwan
    • Qin Yuan Chun 沁園春Taichung Taiwan
      Qin Yuan Chun 沁園春Taichung Taiwan
    • Ahong Popiah
      Ahong Popiah 阿弘潤餅
    • Fu Hang Soy Milk Taipei
      Fuhang Soybean Milk 阜杭豆漿

    Recent Posts

    • Bottega + Ottimo Yountville May 14, 2025
    • Ciccio Yountville May 11, 2025
    • Charter Oak St. Helena Napa Valley California May 8, 2025
    • Cole's Chop House Napa California May 5, 2025
    • Compline Restaurant + Wine Shop Napa May 2, 2025
    • Thomas Keller's La Calenda: A Tribute {Now Closed} April 30, 2025
    • Thomas Keller Ad Hoc + Addendum + Bouchon Bakery April 27, 2025
    • Mandalay San Francisco (Burmese Food) April 24, 2025
    Jennifer Che Tiny Urban Kitchen
    Jennifer Che Tiny Urban Kitchen

    Hi, my name's Jen and welcome to my cooking, eating, and travel site! I am an expat who moved from Boston to Hong Kong 5 years ago. Born and raised in Ohio to Taiwanese immigrant parents, I am a chemistry nerd, patent attorney by day, blogger by night, church musician on weekends, and food enthusiast always. Feel free to explore away, maybe starting with the Recipe Index or one of the travel pages! I hope you enjoy this site!

    More about me →

    logo
    Food Advertisements by

    Explore

    • Recipe
    • Restaurant
    • US Travel
    • World Travel

    Popular Posts

    • Restaurante Litoral Taipa Macau
      Restaurante Litoral Taipa Macau
    • Antonio Macau Taipa
      Antonio Macau Taipa
    • Vienna Opera House
      Vienna Austria Trip Report
    • Steirereck Vienna Austria
      Steirereck Vienna Austria

    Recipes

    • Appetizer
    • Snacks
    • Meat
    • Vegetables
    • Soup
    • Salad
    • Seafood
    • Noodles

    Recently Traveled

    • Hong Kong
    • France
    • Belgium
    • Boston
    • California
    • United Kingdom
    • Germany
    • Spain

    Support Us

    Support Tiny Urban Kitchen by making purchases on Amazon through our affiliate link:

    Recognition


    Featured on the front page
    of the FOOD Section: 2015

    Best Food Blog Awards:
    Restaurant & Dining 2012

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • About Me
    • My Equipment
    • In the Press
    • Project Food Blog
    • Privacy Policy

    Eating Guides!

    Eating & Travel Guides
    Trip Reports
    "Kawaii" (Cute Foods)
    Around the World

    • Pinterest
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Twitter
    • LinkedIn
    • YouTube
    • Mail
    • RSS Feed

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Shop at Amazon

    Copyright © 2024 Tiny Urban Kitchen