Soy glazed grouper with toasted Benny seeds

Fried, boiled, or grilled is usually the staple fish method of preparation for most Bahamians, and was the method of preparation for most households on the recent Good Friday, after it was limed, salted, peppered, then fried. But there is more than one, or even three ways to cook a fish, and celebrity chef Simeon Hall encourages people to explore the options available to them.

"There is more than one way to cook a fish, although I love and advocate making sure that we use our original Bahamian recipes," said Hall.

Before you step out to purchase that fish, the chef says there are a few rules of thumb everyone should adhere to -- always purchase fresh fish, purchase the fish on the day you intend to cook the fish, or at the least one day before; do not over-season; do not over-lime; and definitely do not over-fry.

"Once fish is fresh, it won't need as much seasoning or as much work done to it," said Hall.

When purchasing fresh fish, the chef said to never buy fish that is on display, and to opt for fish that is being held cold on ice, and to look for fish with bright, shiny eyes.

And he says you have to be willing to handle the fish.

"You have to pick up the fish and smell under the gills, where it should smell like saltwater, and not fish. To also tell if you're getting fresh fish, press your thumb into the flesh of the fish, and if it bounces back, more than likely it's fresh."

Celebrity chef Simeon Hall, left, cooking at the James Beard House where he volunteered to work with Chef Kenny Gilbert of Gilber's Underground Kitchen. The advicate of Bahamian recipes urge the use of different applications in preparing fish, a Bahamian staple.

The chef provided The Nassau Guardian with recipes for grouper with Asian and Cajun applications -- a soy-glazed grouper with toasted Bennie seeds, and a blackened grouper filet. When purchasing the grouper for the recipes, he urged people to not buy grouper that's been skinned. Hall said pre-skinned grouper can be that way for a number of different reasons.

"Unless you know your fishmonger personally and can trust that person, skinning a grouper isn't something that I would allow them to do ahead of time. We have several different species of grouper in The Bahamas -- some species that we don't particularly like, some species that are apt to be poisonous, some species that give you a higher fishy taste, and so if you skin a grouper or filet a grouper, it's going to look like what we believe is Nassau Grouper which has a closed season (December 1 - February 28), so you have to be very careful when you purchase any kind of fish already pre-done if you don't know and trust that person.

After fish is purchased he said you could then have it scaled, skinned and fileted.

The chef also encourages people purchasing fish to take a cooler with ice in it for their fish, to keep the temperature of the fish and to avoid odors getting into their car.

He's also a big proponent of purchasing fish on the day it's to be consumed so as to not freeze it. Chef Hall said fish takes to marination quickly and as such does not need pre-marinating. He suggested light use of lime juice with uncooked fish as citric acid toughens fish and makes it a little less moist or juicy. He said salting days before is also not conducive.

"The citrus acid in the lime actually does start the cooking process, therefore it seizes up a little and can be a little tougher," said Hall.

His soy-glazed grouper with toasted Bennie seeds is one the chef loves because it works well with the parts of the fish -- the collar, head and tail end -- that most people use for boiled fish.

"The same parts of the grouper you use for boiled fish would be the same parts you use for this Asian application, so that makes it very affordable for everybody, because you don't waste any part of the fish.

His soy-glazed grouper with toasted Bennie seeds is delicious served with sticky Jasmine rice or an Asian slaw.

Chef Hall's simple blackened grouper recipe is an ode to Louisiana as well as Cat Island, as the simple fish recipe only needs a little blackening spice, a little butter, and a cast-iron skillet and within 10 minutes he said a person can be enjoying blackened fish which pairs well with guinea corn hominy and lard, or even grits.

"Guinea corn hominy lends itself to a very hearty dish as and corn and Cajun food go hand-in-hand, so they're a perfect match and eat very well together when it comes to the end flavor profiles."

Whenever preparing fish, the chef says it's always a good idea to repurpose pre-fried fish. His favorite thing to do is a fish cake -- and his simplest fish cake method is to mix the fish with breadcrumbs, onion, bell pepper, spices and seasoning, and a little mayonnaise to avoid having to incorporate eggs.

Soy glazed grouper with toasted Bennie seeds
Serves: 4

1 pound grouper fillet
1 cup low sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon Hoisin sauce
1 teaspoon fish sauce
1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
1 teaspoon chopped ginger
1 teaspoon chopped green onion
2 tablespoons Cat Island Bennie seeds
Vegetable oil

Mix all the ingredients and cut the fillet into 2-inch pieces on a slant. Use half of the recipe to marinate the fish for 15 minutes and the remaining as the glaze.

In a shallow pot bring the liquid to a boil and remove from the heat.

In a non-stick pan toast the Bennie seeds until slightly golden

In the same pan add a drizzle of vegetable oil and carefully  sear the fish on each side about 2 minutes each.

After the last turn add a layer of glaze and immediately remove from the heat.

To plate: Drizzle glaze on the fish and sprinkle fish with Bennie seeds. Serve with sticky Jasmine rice or a sprout salad.

Blackened grouper
Serves: 4

This technique is said to have originated in Louisiana but we have perfected it. For this recipe you will need a cast iron skillet or a heavy based frying pan.

4 pieces of 5-ounce grouper fillet

1/2 cup Firehouse blackening spice

(I have worked with Firehouse spice to launch a line of perfectly blended spices, so we have taken all the work out of this dish and made it literally blackening grouper for dummies.)

4 ounces unsalted butter

Preheat your oven to 365 degrees.

Add your cast iron pan to the stove and it get very hot. In a plate lay the blackening spice so that you can coat each side evenly. Then drizzle a small amount of oil in the pan.

Add the fish and cook for 2 minutes then flip. Repeat the process add a 1 ounce nob of butter to each fish and place in the oven for exactly 4 more minutes. Serve this dish with Cat Island grits with cooked guinea corn, hominy, fresh corn and lard folded into it -- thanks Ronnie Butler.

Shavaughn Moss

Guardian Lifestyle Editor

Click here to read more at The Nassau Guardian