Fish: The other white meat

I know I know it isn't the other white meat. I just ran out of titles for my blog post and "Fish" didn't have that je ne sais quoi. Ok, so we went to Wegmans. Don't hate me but I didn't see what the fuss was about. They are expensive and they didn't even have kimchi when I went to go get it. Every market around here has kimchi. What is with that? No chicken gizzards? You have every kind of pate but you don't sell chicken gizzards? I do admit that their cheese selection, meat selection and fish selections are awesome. Then again you pay for that awesome. I did buy a whole fish there. Fresh fish. It was a red snapper. I had a recipe from the Kimchi Chronicles that I wanted to make. It called for bass but Wegman's didn't have it. So, snapper it was.



The recipe was great. We loved it. The pictures not so great. Hell, making a dead snapper look snappy just doesn't work. I don't care if you put a French tablecloth under it.



Ohcomeon! You know what I am talking about and you know who you are. The cute cliche picture of the slab of meat that you made for your adoring family and that you served on your best linen. Oh wait! It also had that ever so precious old looking cutlery in the photo too. You know which one I mean. The one that would give you lead poisoning if you ever really used it. Once again I digress.



Ok, here is a picture that I pulled from my archives of crab at Pikes Place in Washington. Even THEY look better than a snapper.



Here is another one I took. Ok, maybe I just didn't get a good picture of the snapper. I need some lessons on picture taking. I am winging it here folks. My interests are elsewhere.



Wait! One more.

Ok ok... Dinner was great.



Whole Grilled Bass with Makgeolli and Doenjang
adapted from The Kimchi Chronicles

NOTE: I substituted Red Snapper for Bass. I also used Saki instead of Makgeolli.

2 whole black sea bass or striped bass (about 1.5lbs each)
3 Tbl doenjang (soybean paste)
3 Tbl rice vinegar
1 Tbl soy sauce
1 Tbl toasted sesame oil
1/2 C makgeolli, sake, white wine, or water
2 Tbl finely diced shallots
2 Tbl finely chopped ginger
5 Scallions, thinly sliced

Cut diagonal slashes into the flesh on both sides of the fish and arrange in a large, shallow dish. Whisk together the doenjang, vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, makgeolli, shallots, and ginger. Pour over the fish, making sure to get the marinade into the slashes. Cover and marinate for at least 20 minutes at room temperature and up to 6 hours in the refrigerator.

Preheat grill to medium-high or preheat a ridged cast iron grill pan over medium-high heat. Place fish on the grill, brush with some of the marinade, and grill until browned and crisp on the first side and the flesh is easily pierced with a paring knife, 7 to 10 minutes, depending on thickness. Carefully turn the fish and baste with more of the marinade. Grill on the second side until the flesh is easily pierced with a paring knife, another 7 to 10 minutes. Transfer the fish to a large pan or platter, let rest for at least 5 minutes. Served sprinkled with the scallions.