Name: Sea bass with fermented chilli
Total time: 20 min
Yield: Serves 4
Ingredients: 4 sea bass fillets; 200ml fish stock; 250g red and green chillies cut in half and deseeded; 3 tbsp sea salt; 2 tbsp vegetable oil; a squeeze lemon juice; 100g red chillies halved and deseeded; 6 cloves garlic; 200ml oil; 2 lemon zested; 100g fermented bean curd

4 sea bass fillets
200ml fish stock

FERMENTED CHILLIES

250g red and green chillies
cut in half and deseeded
3 tbsp sea salt
2 tbsp vegetable oil
a squeeze lemon juice

MARINADE

100g red chillies
halved and deseeded
6 cloves garlic
200ml oil
2 lemon
zested
100g fermented bean curd

Method

step 1
Make the fermented chillies by putting the red and green chillies into a bowl. Sprinkle over 1 tbsp of salt and leave for 3 hours, then rinse under cold water. Heat 250ml of water in a small pan with the remaining 2 tbsp of salt, until the salt has dissolved. Pour into a jug with 250ml of cold water. Put the rinsed chillies in a jar and pour over enough brine to cover, ensuring they’re fully submerged. Leave to ferment in the fridge for 2-3 weeks (see details below or read our expert guide to fermenting here).
step 2
Put all of the marinade ingredients into a food processor and whizz until smooth. Pour into a container with the sea bass and marinate in the fridge for at least 4 hours but preferably overnight.
step 3
Put the fish stock into a small pan and gently reduce until you have 50ml of intense fish stock.
step 4
Heat the oven to 220C/fan 200C/gas 7. Scrape off most of the marinade from the fish, add the fillets to a roasting tray and cook for 10 minutes.
step 5
Remove 3 chilli halves of each colour from the brine and finely chop. Heat the oil in 2 small pans and fry separately until heated through. Finish with a squeeze of lemon juice.
step 6
Serve the sea bass with the two colours of fermented chilli down two halves of the fillets and some of the fish stock spooned around.