When you read my blog posts, it’s probably easy to assume I spend most of my life in the kitchen. While it’s true that at the weekend I can generally be found at the stove and do make a bit more of an effort with our meals, most of my family’s food is a pretty speedy, simple affair.
I am a working mum and most days I don’t have time to cook anything too complicated, so I am trying to build up a trusty list of staples I can rustle up in half an hour.
I realise Jamie Oliver can cook up a meal in just 15 minutes but, unless it’s beans on toast or pesto from a jar stirred into pasta (and there is nothing wrong with either of those), I find it practically impossible to cook anything quite that quickly.
Although that’s probably because, unlike Jamie, it’s impossible for me to give the dinner my undivided attention. There’s usually one of the children asking for help with their homework, or the cat demanding to be fed, or my husband wanting to know if I’ve seen his glasses/wallet/keys (delete as appropriate). You get the picture.
This is one of those meals I can cook up in about 30 minutes. Baking fish in foil makes for an incredibly quick dinner and, by throwing in heaps of garlic, ginger and seasonings, it’s incredibly tasty too. Sea bass is perfect with these strong Oriental flavours.
What’s more, the foil parcels allow me to cater for different family tastes. My youngest daughter is only five and isn’t keen on chilli, so I wrap her fillet separately and leave out the chilli. My husband can’t actually eat fish, so I wrap a chicken breast instead for him, although I do have to cook it for an extra five minutes.
Cooked in instant miso soup, the rice has a wonderfully savoury, umami flavour and I could happily eat bowlfuls of this rice on its own.
Baked sea bass with ginger, garlic & chilli and miso rice
Serves 4
2 tsp sesame oil
4 sea bass fillets
fat, thumb-size piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
1 red chilli, finely sliced
4 radishes, trimmed and finely sliced
5 spring onions, trimmed and finely sliced
2 tbsp fish sauce
juice of 2 limes
1 tbsp light soy sauce
large handful fresh coriander, roughly chopped (leaves and stalks), plus extra for garnish
miso soup paste
250g Basmati rice
Preheat oven to 220°C / gas mark 7.
Tear off sheets of foil, large enough to encase your fillets. You can bake them altogether in one parcel or individually, depending on whether everyone is happy with all the ingredients – I’m thinking mainly about children and chillies here.
Drizzle a little sesame oil onto the foil before placing the fish on it, skin side down.
Pull up the sides of the foil around the fish and toss in the ginger, garlic, chilli, radish and spring onion. Pour in the fish sauce, lime juice, soy sauce and finally sprinkle with the fresh coriander.
Close up the foil parcel tightly and place on a baking tray. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes.
Cook your rice in your usual way, but instead of using plain water, make up a cup of miso soup according to the packet instructions, and cook the rice in this.
Serve the fish on the rice and don’t forget to pour over all that lovely sauce left behind in the foil. Garnish with more chopped coriander.
Fab Fast Food is the theme for Family Foodies in March. Family Foodies is a challenge I co-host with Louisa at Eat Your Veg and this month it is my turn to host. This baked sea bass is one of my favourites for a speedy supper, but I’m keen to see your ideas so I can have a few more tried-and-tested dishes up my sleeve.
The theme for Four Seasons Food this month, hosted by Louisa at Eat Your Veg and Anneli at Delicieux, is Something Fishy, and so I’m entering my baked sea bass into that challenge too, and as sea bass is in season right now I’ve just got to enter it into Ren Behan‘s Simple and in Season food blog event.
Finally, as this dish features a good amount of fresh ginger I’m also entering it into The Spice Trail, hosted by me, as the spice in question this month just happens to be ginger.
Bangers & Mash 
Mmmmm. I so love Sea Bass and parcel baking is one of my favourite cooking methods. This looks so delicious and so pretty with those little pink radishes!
Hell yeah. That looks delicious!
Sea bass is one of the fish I actually really like and I’m quite partial to ginger and garlic as well, so this sounds like a really great meal.
Even though I’m not a fan of fish this looks droolworhty! Looks super healthy and packed with flavours! x
I LOVE fish and especially sea bass! This is a fabulous looking recipe and I am impressed that it is on the table in 30 minutes too Vanesther! Plus, coriander is one of my favourite herbs. Karen
I will give this a try as we eat a lot of fish in my house and I am always looking or new preparation methods. Looks delicious, thanks
A great looking fish dish, I would love to try out.
This is my kind of recipe. The Asian flavours really enhance the seabass. I make mine in a similar way but I love the addition of radishes in yours. The little flecks of pink and white make it a pretty dish. And what a great idea to put miso flavours into the rice. I will definitely do this next time I make rice. I’m sure I will never go back to plain rice again.
That looks fantastic, the radishes definitely add a final flourishing touch! I can definitely identify with that chaotic tea time. If you can make this in under 30 minutes you could submit to Speedy Suppers – Katie at Feeding Boys is hosting this month.
Thanks Sarah – will pop on over later!
I love this method of cooking that seals in all the flavours in the parcel.
I could so eat this tonight, lovely flavours and I’m so pleased you linked up to Simple and in Season as it’s so nice to highlight fish! Thank you x
Oh yes, oh yes, oh yes. The African in me is always excited by rice and fish.
This is a beautiful dish, just the sort of thing I love. Fish is so quick to make, who needs Jamie anyway 😉
Bet that would work really nicely with tempeh too.
This looks great. Love the miso rice, have to give that a go. GG
What a great way to cook sea bass. I love the addition of radishes too -great idea. Much healthier than a fried version I make with these flavours. The rice cooked in miso soup sounds fantastic too -must try that.
Looks lovely! And, I too love the idea of rice with miso
Miso rice is a fab idea Vanesther !I love all kids of sea food and sea bass is particularly yummy!
Vanesther, that looks divine! Have pinned 🙂
Janie x
A cracking #FabFastFood and #SomethingFishy entry Vanesther! Bursting with flavour and I bet the kids loved opening their parcels of loveliness. Was going to try fishy parcels with my kids this month too 🙂
This ticks all my flavour boxes, I adore miso and add it to everything when I can! Simply lovely!
GORGEOUS!!!!! That fish looks so perfect and the combination of ingredients is just wonderful. And beautiful photos. Lovely!
I’m not quite sure how I missed this recipe when you first published it. I must have had a bit of a blip at the beginning of the month.
I often steam fish with garlic, chilli, ginger and soy. I haven’t thought about radishes, for a bit of extra hit. Miso rice is also a new one to me, which I am most certainly have to try sometime very soon. What a great recipe, Vanesther
Thanks Mel – it’s a great flavour combination, isn’t it? Let me know what you think of miso rice if you give it a go 🙂