Pan-fried Mahi-Mahi

( I love Mahi-Mahi. If you really enjoy seafood as much as I do, then you may like this yummy, and simple recipe I’ve created. While growing up, my family ate a lot of seafood, so I always have fond memories when I cook it. My mother use to tell me when I was child, that when cooking fish, if you leave the skin on, it’ll give the meat a stronger flavourful. I didn’t eat the fish skin when I was small. I wish I had. As an adult, I very much enjoy cooking whole fish, or fillets with the skin still intact. Leaving the skin on really does give the fish more flavour, so I’ve added that to my recipe below. And, for me, it just feels like a little bit of my childhood.)

Easy Difficulty
Serves 2

2 Mahi-Mahi fillets (roughly 8 oz / 225 g each), deboned, scaled, but with skin left in tact.
½ cup / 115 g Button Mushrooms, sliced
½ cup / 115 g White Onions, julienne
½ cup / 115 g Snow Peas
2 cups / 340 g Broccoli, chopped into small florets
1 cup / 130 g Flour
2 Tbsp / 30 g Butter (split into 2 even portions. 1 to cook w/ Broccoli. 1 for Mushrooms)
1 Tbsp / 15 g Garlic, minced (split into 2 even portions. 1 to cook w/ Broccoli. 1 for Mushrooms)
1 Tbsp / 15 ml of a nice dry Sherry
Salt and White Pepper to taste
Sugar to taste
Enough Cooking oil to shallow Pan-fry the Mahi.
Chives for garnish.

1.) Start by making sure the Mahi fillets are well cleaned and prepared. Check for any stray bones and remove them with kitchen pliers if any are found. Check if all the scales have been cleaned off completely by sliding your blade over the skin and remove any scales that linger. Rinse meat and pat dry with a paper towel.

2.)Sprinkle a pinch of Salt, White Pepper, and Sugar onto the Mahi Fillets to desired taste. Be sure to flavour the skin as well, because the skin is edible, quite delicious, and healthy. Rub the seasoning into the meat and let sit.

3.) In a large bowl, or a ziplock bag, add in Flour and a pinch of Salt, White Pepper, and Sugar. Mix together, and then dredge the Fish Fillets well in the flour. Remove the Mahi-Mahi and set aside.

4.) In a saute pan set on medium high heat, add in some butter, and saute the Garlic, Onions, and Mushrooms until the Mushrooms are brown, and soft. Remove pan from heat, and add in the Sherry. Mix the vegetables around and cook off the alcohol a little before returning the pan to the heat. Season with Salt and White Pepper to taste, and then set mushroom mix aside in a bowl.

5.)In the same saute pan, add in the rest of the butter and then saute the Garlic, Snow Peas, and Broccoli. Add 3 Tbsp or 4 of water to the hot pan to help the Broccoli soften. When Broccoli, and Snow Peas are al dente, remove from pan and set aside.

6.) In a large frying pan, add in enough cooking Oil for a shallow fry, and heat the pan on Medium High heat. When the oil is ready, add in the Mahi-Mahi fillets and fry until the meat is cooked all the way through, and you get a crispy coating on the fish. Remove the Mahi when it’s done, and place on a plate with paper towels.

7.) Now it’s time to plate up. Add the Broccoli and Snow Peas to the upper left side of the plate, and place the Mahi Fillet in the center. Pour the Mushroom mixture onto the Pan-fried Mahi-Mahi, making sure all the juices get onto the fish. Garnish with a bit of Chives, and Enjoy!


Extra Info: Haha. Can you tell I had some left over Mushrooms from my last Recipe, Mushroom Stuffed Cabbage Rolls? I don't like to waste food so I try to use all my veggies in other dishes or have one big salad.

Mahi is a firm fleshed fish so it does well in hard, high heat cooking methods. It also does well in slow cooking methods such as steaming. It’s a very nice fish to work with and for the most part, it’s very forgiving. You can remove the skin if you prefer. Just slide your deboning knife between the meat and the skin, but be very careful. If you are not confident in your skills with a knife, you can ask your local fishmonger to do it for you when you go to purchase your Mahi-Mahi. Always buy from a fishmonger that you trust. I always make it a point to personally know my favourite local fishmongers, butchers, bakers, and cheesemongers. It’s nice when you can call each other by your first names.

Sugar with fish is something I don’t see a lot of other chefs take advantage of too often. I don’t add enough Sugar to turn my fish dish sweet or anything like that, but I do add it into my cooking to have it play off of the salty components. I find it very pleasant on the pallet. You can omit the pinch of sugar if you like. Speaking of sweetness, if Sherry isn’t really your thing in Mushrooms, you can use a nice crisp white wine, or omit the alcohol completely. If you like cooking with white wine, I always recommend my favourite. Pinot Grigio! Which I happen to have a glass of with my fish that night I cooked this. Very enjoyable.

If you noticed, with the broccoli, I added some water to the hot pan. I did that to create a flash of steam to help the vegetables along. In Asian cooking, it's call that the “Breath of the Wok.” But in this case, I was using a saute pan, so it’s the “Breath of the…Saute Pan”? Doesn’t have as nice a ring to it, does it, but you get what I mean. That introduction of fluid to the hot pan creates just enough of a burst of wet heat that it penetrates into the vegetables’ cells and blanches the outside of the broccoli and snow peas for you. It brings out the colour, and flavour very nicely.

Happy Eating!

Mise En Place Picture:
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/16549303/