Steven Raichlen's Marinated Fish with Coconut-Ginger Rice

It's like I'm possessed. I set out last night to break my streak of starch-filled meals, but no matter how hard I tried, it all ended up being about the carbs. Let me explain. I had good intentions, I swear I did. I went to the store, I bought two gorgeous fillets of sea bass, and my very first jalapeno. It was shaping up to be a momentous occasion. At home, I made a marinade of lime juice, Meyer lemon (because I bought two at the new Balducci's - which, by the way, is lovely but totally unnavigable - and they were threatening to rot) and diced jalapeno. I lay those glistening pieces of fish in the marinade and turned. To. The. Rice.

I'll be honest. That photograph up there is pretty much a red herring. This post is all about the rice. I mean, the fish was good. Delicious, even. I'll make it again. But the rice? The rice is perfection. Now you see about being possessed. The recipe came from an old New York Times Magazine article and is from Steven Raichlen's book Miami Spice. For once this was a recipe I hadn't clipped myself - it was given to me by a friend. I put it aside politely, figuring the presence of cilantro (have I mentioned it tastes like rat poison to me?) would make this a no-go. But something kept me from throwing it out. Probably divine intervention.

While the fish marinated away, I melted some butter in a saucepan, added minced ginger and garlic and then a mixture of basmati and long-grain rice. When this had toasted nicely, I added coconut milk, water and salt. Top on, flame down. 20 minutes later, the ingredients had melded into a fragrant, fluffy pile of the most delicious rice I'd ever eaten. The fish broiled briefly in the oven (setting off the fire alarm, I might add. I'll get to the part about preventing that in a minute) and then got flopped down next to the rice. The delicate fish meat worked perfectly with the rice, and the tiny diced jalapeno gave the whole thing some heat. The best thing is, you could make this rice with Latin food, or Caribbean or Indian. It'd work perfectly with all of it.

Now I promise to break this carbohydrate streak presently, I really do. It might even happen tomorrow. In a big way. Aren't I a tease? I'll try to stay focused. Wish me luck.

Marinated Sea Bass with Coconut-Ginger Rice
Serves 4

The sea bass:
1/3 cup fresh lime juice (I mixed in Meyer Lemon juice, too)
1 large jalapeno, with seeds, minced
4 sea bass fillets (the original recipe calls for grouper or red snapper. My store didn't have either of these. The sea bass was fantastic, though.)
2 teaspoons chopped fresh cilantro (if cilantro doesn't taste like it's going to kill you)

The rice:
1 teaspoon unsalted butter (I'd make this 1 tablespoon - otherwise it's not enough and all will burn)
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
1 1/2 cups long-grain white rice (I used a mixture of long-grain and basmati because I didn't have enough of either)
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk
1 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1. To make the fish, combine the citrus juice and jalapeno in a shallow glass or ceramic dish. Add the fish and turn to coat in the marinade. Let stand for 20 minutes, turning once.

2. Meanwhile, to make the rice, heat the butter in a medium-sized heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and ginger (you could easily double the amounts of these for bolder flavor) and cook until fragrant but not brown, about 1 minute. Add the rice and stir for 1 minute.

3. Add the coconut milk, water and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover and cook the rice until the liquid is absorbed and the grains are tender, 18 to 20 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, for 1 minute. Fluff with a fork.

4. Preheat the broiler. Remove fish from marinade and place on a baking sheet or broiler pan (oil this pan! Otherwise your fire alarm will go off). Broil until fish is just cooked through, about 6 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Place 1 fillet on each of 4 plates and sprinkle with cilantro (shudder). Spoon the rice beside the fish and serve immediately.

Comments

[Melissa]

Luisa, how on earth do you know what rat poison tastes like? Never mind, don't answer that! The thought of a steaming pile of coconut-scented rice is driving my salivatory glands wild. Sounds like you may have just clinched the deal on dinner tonight!

[lindy]

Don't stop the carb-a-thon-I love it! Those fish look gorgeous, too, though.

Re cilantro: I suggest you keep trying it from time to time. When I first tried it, I actually used the word "poison" myself (I didn't mention the rat, though.)
I felt that it had contaminated the hummous my friend put it on.
I was surprised that I loathed a food that other people loved- I usually like everything-esp. everything green.So I sort of kept sampling it. I don't know when the tide turned , but I now love it-especially with lime.

Just give it another chance from time to time- you never know. (My daughter just decided she liked brussel sprouts, after hating them for 25 years!)

[foodmomiac]

I second the opinion that cilantro should be re-tried occasionally. When I first tasted it, I likened it to Palmolive. I still don't love it, but I can tolerate it in small doses, especially with lime, like Lindy suggests. The Trader Joe's fresh salsa is very cilantro-heavy and is actually quite good.

[Luisa]

Melissa - hope you like it as much as I did. And there is a small chance that I might be exaggerating a tiny bit, just for literary effect. But just a very small chance!

Lindy and foodmomiac - I read somewhere once that people who don't like cilantro are like the folks who can't smell asparagus in their pee: they're missing some sort of enzyme. So cilantro really does taste just BAD, like it's-going-to-make-you-sick BAD. I wish I liked it, I really do. But I just don't. Sigh.

[Bea at La Tartine Gourmande]

Nice fish! I was myself looking recently for grouper and could not find any, hence went for sea bass, but whole this time. I will try your recipe. I love sea bass and Meyer lemons.

[Milo]

I thought the fish sounded delicious ... until I got to the rice. WOW. Must try!

[Tania]

Oops, that post should have been from Tania, not Milo. That's my dog! He left a post for someone on Typepad earlier, and I guess his name automatically appeared when I opened your comment template. Sorry about that! Although I'm sure he'd love both the fish AND the rice!!

[Luisa]

Tania - that's one talented dog.

[MM]

That looks so delectable! Yums.

[Luisa]

MM - oh, it was! Can't wait to make it again.