Golden Pomfret is one of my favourite fish to eat. It's oily, fatty and packed with flavour. It's a very popular fish used mostly in Asian cooking but I haven't ever had in Western restaurant for some reason, so here's my attempt. It's grilled in the oven and finished with a blow torch for a touch of smokiness, paired with a beurre blanc sauce with herb oil and a fennel salad for a touch of freshness. Have you tried golden pomfret?
Difficulty: Medium
Time: 1 hour
Serves: 2
Ingredients
Torched Golden Pomfret
- 2 golden pomfret fillets, skin scored*
- olive oil
- salt
Beurre Blanc Sauce
- 2 tbsp shallot finely diced
- 1/8 cup white wine vinegar
- 1/8 cup verjus
- 1/4 cup white wine
- 1/3 cup thick cream
- 3 tbsp butter
- salt
- pepper
Herb Oil
- 2 tbsp fresh dill
- 1 tsp fresh tarragon
- 3 tbsp grapeseed oil
Fennel Salad
- 1 fennel bulb finely sliced using mandolin
- fennel fronds
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- salt
Labneh
- 2 tbsp labneh**
* Golden pomfret is a fatty fish packed with flavour. You might only be able to find them as a whole fish and have to fillet it yourself, or ask your fish monger to do it for you.
** I used shop bought labneh but you can easily make it by adding some salt to Greek yoghurt and let it sit inside filter bags in a sieve over a bowl to let most of the liquid in the yoghurt to drain out.
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 190 degrees on grill setting.
2. Make the herb oil by soaking the dill and tarragon in hot water for 30 seconds before transferring to a cold water bath. Dry with kitchen towel and blitz with the grapeseed oil in a food processor. Pass it through a filter bag for a clear green oil.
3. Make the fennel salad by adding fennel, lemon juice, olive oil and salt into a bowl, mix well and set it aside.
4. Add the shallot, white wine vinegar, verjus and white wine to a small sauce pot, bring to boil and simmer over low heat until it's reduced to approximately 2 tbsp of liquid. Add the thick cream, gently mix it through over low heat for a few minutes until warmed through but not boiling. Incorporate the butter slowly until it's well emulsified and season with salt and pepper. Pass it through a sieve into a small serving bowl once it's ready and keep warm in a hot water bath.
5. Season the pomfret fillets well with salt and pepper and coat it generously with olive oil in a baking tray. Grill for 8 minutes.
6. Take the pomfret fillets out of the oven, blow torch the skin until crispy and golden brown.
7. Assemble by placing the fish fillet on a plate, some of the fennel salad and labneh, then finish with the beurre blanc sauce and herb oil on top.
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