808 at home


One of the best meals I had in Las Vegas at NAB was at 808 -- so good that I didn't mind going back the very next day. The best dish on the menu was a sesame crusted seared mahi mahi with a lime ginger beurre blanc on asian vegetables. I was thrilled to find the recipe here -- and I tried it at home. The results are below. It was delicious.




The recipe from the article follows -- I think it may need more ginger and less cream, but otherwise it was very good. I coated both sides of the mahi mahi. The vegetables were carrots, zucchini and baby boc choi, in that order, sautéed in oil and finished with soy sauce and a touch of butter.

Charred Mahi-Mahi With a Sesame Crust Topped With Lime Ginger Beurre Blanc

1/2 cup dry white wine
2 slices fresh ginger
1/4 cup heavy cream
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 lime, juiced
1/2 tablespoon minced garlic
Salt and pepper to taste
3-ounce mahi-mahi fillet
1/8 cup white sesame seeds
1 teaspoon corn starch
1/4 teaspoon black sesame seeds

In a skillet, combine the white wine and the fresh slivers of ginger. Simmer on medium heat to reduce by half. Add the heavy cream and reduce again by half. Cut the butter into small cubes; then add them one at a time until each is incorporated into the reduction. Make sure to keep the sauce right under boiling temperature while you incorporate the butter. The sauce will separate if it boils too rapidly or becomes too cold.

Next, pass the reduction through cheesecloth or a chinois. (A chinois is a metal sieve with a very fine mesh used to strain soups and sauces.) Put the sauce in a blender and add the minced garlic and the lime juice. Process at medium speed until the ginger and the lime juice are incorporated into the sauce. Add salt and pepper to taste. Reserve to the side until fish is ready for serving.

Season the fish with salt and pepper on both sides. Mix together the cornstarch and white sesame seeds. Next, press one side of the fish into the seed mixture. Place a heavy-bottomed skillet or a wok on high heat. After the skillet is really hot, place the fish in the pan with the sesame seed side down. Cook until crispy brown. Turn the fish over and cook an additional 4 to 6 minutes. (Mahi-mahi has a firm, white meat and a delicate flavor. It is sometimes called dorado or dolphin fish. [It has no relation to dolphins, which are mammals.])

Serve on a small bed of stir-fried vegetables. Drizzle the lime ginger butter sauce around the fish and garnish the dish with black sesame seeds.

Posted: Sun - April 24, 2005 at 07:19 PM        

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