I have two, count 'em two, special seafood recipes, both of which I purloined from San Francisco restaurants.
First up, Mahi-Mahi in coconut caramel sauce from the now defunct Ana Mandara restaurant in Ghirardelli Square:
Mahi-Mahi in Coconut Caramel Sauce
Ingredients:
4 mahi-mahi fillets, 6oz each
½ cup all-purpose flour
Marinade
¼ cup sesame oil
¼ cup lemon juice
¼ cup lite soy sauce
¼ cup hoi sin sauce
2 tsp turbinado or demerara sugar
1 Tbs chili garlic sauce
2 tsp Chinese five spice
1 tsp ground ginger
Sauce
2 cups turbinado or demerara sugar
1½ cups coconut milk
3 Tbs Asian fish sauce
¼ cup minced shallots
1 Tbs minced fresh ginger
1 tsp garlic, minced
¼ tsp red pepper flakes
Fresh ground black pepper
2 scallions, white and green parts, sliced very thin
Instructions:
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk the marinade ingredients together. Put the mahi-mahi fillets into a large zippered plastic bag. Pour in the marinade, squeeze out the air, zip the bag closed and allow the mahi-mahi to marinate in the refrigerator for 1 to 4 hours. Remove the mahi-mahi from the bag, pat it dry with paper towels and discard the marinade.
Dredge the fillets in flour and grill them, turning once, until they flake easily with a fork.
Place the sugar in a 10-inch frying pan over medium heat. Whisk the sugar until it is melted and dark amber colored, 3 to 5 minutes. Add ½ cup coconut milk to the melted sugar; the mixture will bubble vigorously. Stir the mixture over medium heat until the caramelized sugar is completely dissolved. Add the fish sauce, shallots, ginger, garlic, and remaining coconut milk and stir over medium-high heat until the sauce is the desired thickness. Pour the sauce over the plated fish fillets, then garnish each one with green onions and add fresh ground black pepper to taste.
Next up: Snapper Romano, which I changed to Pesce Romano because sometimes red snapper is hard to find, from Scoma's Restaurant on Fisherman's Wharf:
Pesce Romano
Ingredients:
Fish
4 firm fleshed fish fillets
2 Tbs light olive oil
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp granulated garlic
salt and fresh ground black pepper
Sauce
1 tsp garlic, minced
½ tsp lemon juice
2 Tbs butter, cubed and slightly chilled
2 Tbs Mushroom, sliced
2 Tbs yellow onion, sliced
1 tsp Italian seasoning
2 cups tomato sauce
1 cup cocktail shrimp, cooked, deveined, tails off
salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 250o.
Dry the fillets with paper towels. In a small bowl, add salt, pepper, onion powder and granulated garlic to the flour and whisk to combine.
In a sauté pan, heat the oil over medium high until shimmering. Dredge fillets in flour mixture and sauté until fish flakes easily with a fork. Remove the fish to an oven safe plate and place in the 250o oven to keep warm.
Reduce the heat to medium, Add onion and sauté until soft. Add the garlic, mushrooms and Italian seasoning and sauté an additional 45 to 60 seconds. Remove the pan from the heat, add the lemon juice and butter, and swirl the pan until butter just melts. Add the tomato sauce and bring it to a boil. Remove the pan from the heat, add shrimp and stir to heat through. Season the sauce with salt and pepper to taste.