Steamed Sea Bass Fillets with Soy, Chilli and Garlic

Post in collaboration with Iceland Foods

Punchy Asian flavours abound in this healthy, quick and easy fish dish which is syn free on Slimming World. Steamed Sea Bass Fillets with Soy, Chilli and Garlic using frozen fish cooked in a bamboo steamer over a wok. On the table in less than 10 minutes.

So much excitement to share in this post. Firstly a trip to London, secondly visiting an Iceland Foods flagship store, thirdly eating a feast of fish cooked seven ways by Iceland Head Chef Neil Nugent. But I've saved the best till last... I got to visit the Saturday Kitchen Studios! Check out little old me stood behind the self same kitchen counter where James Martin et al have stood. Alas I never got to try my hand at the infamous omelette challenge. I'll need to blag an invite on the show for real for that one.

Fangirl moment over, let me tell you the real reason for my visit to London. As regular readers will know I've been collaborating with Iceland Foods for almost 18 months now sharing the #PowerOfFrozen message (frozen food - not Anna and Elsa) and working alongside them to change perceptions of both frozen food and their brand. I'm the first to admit that prior to working with them I'd only ever visited at Christmas to stock up on party food and the ubiquitous Prawn Ring! To further enhance our partnership I was delighted to be invited to attend their 'School of Fish' day in London to find out more about the them, their products and plans for the future. Along with a group of nine other bloggers, vloggers and influencers I met the team from Iceland after having spent the night at the gorgeous Windmill Hotel. Fueled up on breakfast and coffee we were ready to be escorted to Iceland’s flagship Clapham store. 

The store looked nothing like my local Iceland. If it wasn't for the branding I would have struggled to tell that I wasn't in the adjacent premium supermarket! An abundance of fresh produce, seriously impressive drinks selection and the swankiest freezers you ever did see. Over the last two years Iceland have worked hard to up their game, change perceptions and increase their product range, but they put their hands up to the fact that the majority of their stores don't as yet look the part. This one most certainly did and I sincerely hope that this fresh modern look will continue to be rolled out across all of their sites. On a walk round the store we were introduced to a selection of new and innovative products, best sellers and old favourites. I was particularly excited to see the elusive frozen avocado halves. These have proved so popular that alas they aren't available in all stores yet. I was also introduced to some new products all of which I've since bought in my local store. Rainbow Fries, Cauliflower Rice, Multi Greens Rice and Mac & Cheese Pizza. My facebook page went crazy for the pizza. But then again we do love a Macaroni Pie in Scotland. 

From the store it was a short walk to Cactus Studios, home of the The Michel Roux Jr Cookery School and filming location for Saturday Kitchen. Here we were hosted by Iceland's Head Chef Neil Nugent who shared with us his culinary expertise and in particular the sentiment that if you want fresh fish - buy frozen. Now this may seem like a contradiction of terms but here's the Iceland explanation.

"Some ‘fresh’ fish displayed on the supermarket fish counters has previously been frozen or transported on ice. Tucked away in the small print you will find ‘previously frozen’. It often takes well over a week to reach the store, losing valuable nutrients and freshness in the process; whereas freezing is nature’s pause button so the goodness is locked in."

Makes sense when you think about it. If a fish is caught and frozen immediately (which often occurs at sea in factory boats) you literally stop the clock. The freshness is frozen in and nutritionally nothing is lost. However fresh fish on a supermarket fish counter could have been caught days if not weeks ago. There's something fishy going on there! 

Preparing fish and seafood can be a wee bit scary but Iceland have done all the hard work for you. No worries about heads, tails, guts and scales, all you need to do is defrost.The best way is overnight in the fridge but if you are in a hurry and are going to cook the fish immediately there's a quicker option. Just watch the video below for full instructions. I'm definitely going to use Neil's tip of defrosting on a J-Cloth. For our lunch Neil cooked us a risotto using white and claw crab meat and Argentinian red shrimp. I'd already tried both products (the shrimp featured in my BBQ Steak and Shrimp Kebabs with Maple and Mustard Glaze) so I knew it was going to be a tasty dish. But it didn't stop there. To finish off the dish was a perfectly cooked fillet of Sea Bream with wonderfully crispy skin. In order to achieve this make sure you dry the fish skin really, really well.

Throughout the afternoon Neil took us on a voyage of discovery on the good ship 'School of Fish' to sail through his seven (seas) methods of cooking fish (enough of the fishy puns already?!) And so we watched, learned and ate...

1. Deep Fried Lemonade Batter Cod Goujons 
2. Grilled Trout Fillet with Toasted Almond Butter 
3. Baked Cod en Papillote 
4. Poached Salmon served with Warm Potato Salad 
5. Steamed Sea Bass Fillets with Soy, Chilli and Garlic 
6. Pan Griddled Tuna with Salsa Roca 
7. Pan Fried Sea Bream with Chermoula 

Yes. We did also have dessert. Luxury Sicilian Lemon Tartlets. It all tasted just as amazing as it looked and it all came out of the freezer. 

The recipe I'm sharing with you below was my absolute favourite. So quick and easy to make yet packed full of fresh and punchy Asian flavours. And as a bonus if you are following Slimming World then my version is syn free! (Neil's original recipe used the juice of 1 orange which I have substituted for 2 Tbsp of lemon juice) If you like the sound of any of the other dishes above you can find the recipes for them all in an instore leaflet or online at Iceland Fish Recipes.

The video below gives a step by step run through of the Steamed Sea Bass Fillets with Soy, Chilli and Garlic. I have a small bamboo steamer basket so could only fit in a couple of fillets on a side plate. I think a visit to my local Chinese supermarket for a larger one is on the cards as I can see this becoming one of my new favourite ways to cook fish.

Steamed Sea Bass Fillets with Soy, Chilli and Garlic

(Syn Free on Slimming World)

Serves Two

Ingredients:

4 Defrosted Sea Bass fillets

2 Tbsp of Dark Soy Sauce

Thumb sized piece of Fresh Ginger, grated

2 Garlic cloves, grated

1 Red Chilli - 1/2 finely chopped, 1/2 sliced for garnish

2 Tbsp Lemon Juice

1 Whole Carrot, Sliced into Match Sticks

2 Spring Onions, Cut into Strips

Fresh Coriander to garnish

Method:

Defrost the Seabass fillets and pat dry. Place them on a plate and then into a bamboo steamer. 

In a bowl mix together the dark soy sauce, grated (a microplane grater works best for this) ginger and garlic, finely chopped chilli and lemon juice.

Add approximately 4cm of water to a wok, place in your bamboo basket and bring to a simmer.

Pour the soy dressing over the sea bass fillets and top with the prepared carrots and spring onions.

Place the lid on the steamer and allow to steam for 5-6 mins.

Garnish with chopped fresh coriander, sliced red chilli and serve immediately with steamed rice.

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Disclosure: This is a commissioned post for Iceland Foods. As always, all views expressed are my own.

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