This tender, flaky, and flavorful Chilean sea bass recipe with Asian flavors will help you to create a fancy seafood dinner at home in just 10 minutes of cooking time! It is a healthy meal that is easy, quick, and perfect for the ultimate special occasion like an anniversary or birthday.
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If you've ever had a restaurant-quality Chilean sea bass from Ruth's Chris, Nobu, or another gourmet restaurant, you may have wondered if you could recreate the seafood dish by cooking it at home! Luckily, this recipe is one that feels fancy but is actually really easy to make.
We also love our pan-seared shrimp and air fryer halibut when making delicious seafood at home!
Why You Will Love This Recipe
- It has delicious flavor and texture. Marinated in simple ingredients: soy sauce, brown sugar, and rice vinegar (similar to these air fryer salmon bites.)
- It's simple, quick, and quite easy to make. Fancy enough to feel restaurant-quality, yet easy enough to make at home for a special occasion. Oven-baked in just 10 minutes!
- Great for many dietary restrictions. It is high in protein, has few carbs, and is made with no oil and no butter. This recipe is gluten-free, dairy-free, and pescatarian, and is able to be made Whole30, paleo, and keto with a few simple substitutions.
- Versatile recipe: Use marinade and broiling instructions on other cuts of fish such as salmon, mahi mahi, cod, or haddock.
Ingredients and Substitutions
Here are the ingredients you need to make this recipe. Reference the recipe card at the bottom for exact measurements and the notes below for substitution ideas.
- Chilean sea bass - Use fresh or frozen. No skin fillets can usually be found in the freezer section or fresh from the seafood counter.
- Soy Sauce - may substitute half of the soy sauce for miso glaze or fish sauce. Use coconut aminos for Whole30.
- Brown Sugar - you can also use coconut sugar, honey, or maple syrup as a substitute. Omit for keto and Whole30.
- Rice Vinegar - easier to find than mirin and sake, although both may be swapped out in place of rice vinegar.
- Seasonings - soy sauce provides enough salt, however seasoning with pepper or Asian seasoning help to bring out additional flavor.
How to Cook This Recipe
Below are step-by-step instructions for how to cook this recipe with the best results. The recipe card at the bottom shows the exact cooking time and temperatures.
Step 1:
Defrost fillets and pat dry with a paper towel. Place fish in a baking dish or a plastic Ziploc bag to marinate.
Step 2:
Whisk together soy sauce, brown sugar and rice vinegar.
Step 3:
Pour marinade over fish. Work marinade into fish and allow to marinate in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours up to overnight.
Step 4:
Place fish on a baking sheet or a cast iron pan. Ensure oven rack is 6 inches from broiler, then preheat oven's broiler. Broil fish for about 10 minutes under the broiler or until the fish flakes easily with a fork. Allow the door to be open slightly ajar to monitor cooking.
Step 5:
Top with green onions and serve.
Make Ahead, Storage, Freezer, Serving & Reheating
- Make Ahead: Marinate overnight or as little as 3 hours. The longer you marinate, the more in-depth flavor there will be.
- Storage: Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
- Freezing: Once cooked, it should not be re-frozen. However, if you purchase fresh fillets, you can pre-marinate your fish and store it in freezer-safe containers for up to 3 months.
- Serving: Serve it with rice, risotto, cauliflower potato mash or mashed potatoes along with a vegetable like asparagus or broccoli.
- Reheating: Reheat leftovers in the oven by broiling fish until just heated. It is also fabulous eaten cold in a sushi bowl, similar to our salmon buddha bowl.
Expert Tips
- Where to buy it: Try checking out Costco or Sam's Club to find the best price. You can also get it at your local grocery store or Whole Foods along with fish markets. To make sure that you are purchasing the highest-quality fish, ensure it does not have a fishy smell and is sustainable/MSC certified.
- How to ensure even cooking: Select fillets that are of even thickness. Use an instant-read thermometer to temp to 140F to 145F.
- How to avoid overcooking: Ensure that your fish is 6 inches from the broiler and keep the door open just slightly while broiling. Once you start to notice the brown sugar caramelizing you will want to keep an eye on it to not overcook it.
- Air Fryer Instructions: Follow recipe as written until broiling instructions. Place marinated fillets in the air fryer basket and air fry for 10 minutes at 375F or until cooked through.
FAQs
It is a particular type of cold water fish found in the Atlantic, Pacific an Indian oceans. It is actually not a sea bass, rather its proper name is the Patagonian toothfish. Chilean sea bass is its commercial name developed to make it attractive to the market according to Wikipedia.
It is a very popular fish due to its light and tender texture along with its delicious flavor.
The most popular ways to cook sea bass are pan fried or seared, in the air fryer, in a cast iron skillet and oven roasting or broiling. My personal opinion is the best way to cook it is by oven broiling.
Oven broiling is quick and creates a delicious crispy and crunchy caramelized crust leaving tender and flaky fish on the inside. It is the fastest way to make Chilean sea bass in 10 minutes.
Serve it with side dishes like rice, risotto, or mashed potatoes and with a vegetable like asparagus or broccoli.
It is a very popular fish that tends to be overfished leading to issues of supply and demand making it very expensive.
Related Recipes
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Oven Broiled Asian Chilean Sea Bass with Soy Sauce
Equipment
- 1 8X8 baking dish for marinating
- 1 8X8 Baking pan for broiling
- 1 instant read thermometer
Ingredients
- 16 oz Chilean sea bass 4, 4-ounce fillets
- ⅓ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup brown sugar packed
- ⅓ cup rice vinegar
- pepper to taste
- 1 small green onion chopped
Instructions
- Defrost fish and pat dry with a paper towel. Place in a baking dish or a plastic Ziploc bag to marinate.16 oz Chilean sea bass
- Whisk together soy sauce, brown sugar and rice vinegar and pour over fish. Work marinade into fish and allow to marinate in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours up to overnight.⅓ cup soy sauce, ¼ cup brown sugar, ⅓ cup rice vinegar
- Ensure oven rack is 6 inches from broiler. Preheat oven's broiler and place marinated fish onto a broiler rack. Allow the door to be open slightly ajar to monitor roasting.
- Broil fish for about 10 minutes under the broiler or until the fish flakes easily with a fork. Season with pepper to taste and top with green onions and serve.pepper, 1 small green onion
Air Fryer Instructions
- Follow recipe as written until broiling instructions. Place marinated fillets in the air fryer basket and air fry for 10 minutes at 375F or until cooked through.
Notes
- Ensure that your fish is 6 inches from the broiler and keep the door open just slightly while broiling. Once you start to notice the brown sugar caramelizing you will want to keep an eye on it to not overcook it.
- Make Ahead: Marinating is key to getting the full Asian flavor into the fish. You can marinate overnight or as little as 3 hours. The longer you marinate, the more flavors there will be.
- Storage: Although leftovers of this delicious dish are rare, store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
- Freezing: Once cooked, it should not be refrozen. However, if you purchase fresh fillets, you can pre-marinate your fish and store it in freezer-safe containers for up to 3 months. This is a great option if you are choosing to sous-vide the fish as well.
- Serving: Serve with rice, mashed potatoes along with a vegetable like asparagus or broccoli.
- Reheating: Reheat leftovers in the oven by broiling fish until just heated. It is also fabulous eaten cold in a sushi bowl, similar to our salmon buddha bowl.
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Vicki says
I cooked this on a cedar plank on top of oranges and it was crazy good!
Thank you for sharing it.
Lyndsey Piccolino says
What a great idea! I bet it smelled amazing!
Maurice says
Super easy, amazing flavor! I marinated it overnight and 👌🏿. Next time I’ll add a bit of ginger and pepper. Thank you for this recipe!
Lyndsey Piccolino says
Hi Maurice! I'm so glad you enjoyed my recipe. Thanks for your review and 5-star rating!
Carolyn Bennett says
This fish recipe is so easy and has fast become one of my favorites! Had 2 of the 4 I bought were larger and had to cook them longer. My kitchen really got smelly but otherwise love love this!
Lyndsey says
I'm so glad you loved it Carolyn and glad it was easy for you! I usually light a candle or diffuser to take care of the seafood smell 🙂