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Marcus Wareing's Korean-style fried monkfish with sesame pickles
Serves 4 Starters and mains
Ingredients
- 1tbsp buttermilk
- ½tsp salt
- thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
- 500g monkfish fillet, cut into 8 equal pieces
- vegetable oil, for deep-frying
- 75g cornflour
- 2tbsp white sesame seeds, toasted
- 2 spring onions, trimmed and sliced at an angle
For the sesame pickles
- 200ml rice wine vinegar
- 2tbsp toasted sesame oil
- 3tbsp clear honey
- 10 radishes, halved
- 1 carrot, peeled and thinly sliced
- ½ cucumber (unpeeled), deseeded and cut into batons
For the korean-style glaze
- 4tbsp gochujang paste
- 2tbsp light soy sauce
- 3tbsp honey
- 2tbsp rice wine vinegar
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 1tbsp toasted sesame oil
Method
At least 2 hours (and up to 1 day) before, make the sesame pickling liquor for the vegetables. Put the rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, honey and ½tsp salt in a pan with 75ml water and bring to the boil.
Separate the vegetables into three heatproof bowls (to ensure they each keep their natural colours), then divide the hot pickle liquor among them. Cover with cling film, pressing it on to the surface of the liquor. All to cool completely while you marinate the fish, then store the vegetables in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
Mix the buttermilk, salt and ginger in a bowl, add the fish, cover with cling film and
leave to marinate in the fridge for 2 hours.
Meanwhile, make the Korean-style glaze. Combine all the ingredients in a small saucepan, put it over a medium heat and bring to the boil, then reduce for 1 minute to a loose jam consistency. Remove from the heat.
Pour enough oil into a deep-fat fryer or a large, deep saucepan to come up to 5cm. If using a deep-fat fryer or if you have a thermometer, heat the oil to 170C. If not, to check the temperature, drop a 2–3cm cube of bread into the hot oil – it should turn golden and crisp in 30 seconds. Remember the heat will drop each time you add things to the oil so keep an eye on the temperature through the cooking process.
Put the cornflour on a plate. Remove the monkfish from the fridge, discard any excess marinade, then dredge each piece in the cornflour and dust off any excess. Gently drop the monkfish pieces into the hot oil and fry for 3–4 minutes until golden and crispy.
Use a slotted spoon to transfer the fish to kitchen paper to drain any excess oil, then place in a mixing bowl and drizzle over the glaze. Mix until all the fish is coated in the glaze, then sprinkle with the toasted sesame seeds and spring onions. Serve the glazed monkfish with the sesame pickles.
This recipe was taken from the Christmas 2021 issue of Food and Travel. To subscribe, click here.
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