Braised (sustainable) Halibut Tagine
Wild Alaskan Halibut Steak
Served over Couscous
Chestnut, Asian Pear, Dried Jujube, Sweet Potato, Daikon & Carrot Stew
Sesame, Pine Nut & Green Onion Garnish
Natasha, the 5 Star Foodie & Lazaro of Lazaro Cooks! host the 5 Star Makeover Cooking Group, a fabulous monthly event for “sharing ideas and creating gourmet makeovers of selected classic dishes or flavor combinations.”
March’s assignment is Sustainable Fish: “Sustainability is an important issue for us and what better way to get the word out than by cooking some amazing sustainable fish on all our blogs. You can prepare the whole fish or portions, featuring a makeover of any classical preparation of fish, just find a sustainable fish and make it shine.”
A Best Choice: Halibut, Pacific
Seafood Watch App for Android and iPhone here.
Halibut, Pacific
Rating: Best Choice
Most Pacific halibut is caught with bottom longlines that cause little habitat damage and have low levels of accidental catch.
The Pacific halibut fisheries of Alaska, Washington, and Oregon are certified as sustainable to the standard of the Marine Stewardship Council.
Market Name: Alaskan Halibut
I have fallen in love with hansik – Korean Food. Here we employ the ingredients of the classic Korean Braised Short Rib Stew, Galbi Jim, and create a unique dish featuring sustainable Alaskan halibut.
Daikon, Sweet Potato, Asian Pear, Shiitake, Carrot, Shallot, Garlic, Ginger
Sauté the vegetable mélange in a tagine with toasted sesame oil until softened.
Add 1/4 c. mirin, dried jujube (red date), and whole peeled & cooked chestnut.
Cook until mirin has reduced by half.
Add 1 c. dashi (or fish stock) and 1 1/2 T. low-sodium soy sauce. Bring to a boil.
Add frozen halibut steaks. Cover tagine and simmer for 5 minutes.
Then turn off the heat and let the tagine sit, covered, for another 5 minutes
or so until the halibut is just cooked through.
Place couscous and vegetable stew (with plenty of sauce) in a shallow dish. Top with halibut steak.
Garnish with sesame seed, sliced scallion, and pine nut.
Kudos to Lazaro & Natasha for choosing an excellent theme for this month’s cooking club!
41 comments • Filed in: Heart Healthy
What a very cool technique to use a North African style of cooking – the tagine – and employ Korean flavors. Very creative!
What a gorgeous and delicious sounding array of fruits and vegetables you have in this dish. I noticed that fresh wild halibut was advertised in my supermarket circular for this coming week, and I can’t wait to pick some up! It’s not something they normally carry. I’m also about to go download that app, asap! Thanks for sharing
Beautiful flavors – and thanks for conscious eating!
Fantastic recipe Lori, and your meal look beautiful and sound so tasty! Love your photos too!
Merci Beaucoup Sandra!
LL
I am so happy people are getting on the sustainable fish band wagon, err I mean band “boat”. Besides it’s halibut season and that’s reason enough to celebrate with this special recipe. GREG
Hi Greg! Cute play on words. And the app is very helpful…
LL
Excellent choice of sustainable fish and what a gorgeous dish!
Hi MOS – the app makes it easy. Thanks for your compliment!
LL
A beautiful fish dish, clean flavours and yes, we should endavour to eat more sustainable fish & seafood.
Thanks Peter – means a lot from you, the king of seafoods! I adore all your Greek seafood dishes, your octopus being my absolute favorite!
LL
Hi Lori Lynn! I love your dish, and I love the idea of using ingredients of galbi jim to put a spin on the traditional fish. Korean cuisine is so rich with flavors that I can only imagine how wonderful your dish must have tasted.
P.S. I love the photos with your phone research
Jessica
Hi Jessica – I am really enjoying learning about the flavors of Korean food. This dish was non-traditional, but it was a winner!
LL
Lori, If we were voting for best dish in the sustainable seafood challenge, I would have vote for you. Glorious, delicious, great photos and of course, I love the Iphone app. It goes on my phone today.
Angela! You made my day!
I’m not at all familiar with the original dish, galbi jim, and I’ve never tried nor even seen jujube, but I would absolutely love to try this dish out. The flavours and, in fact, just the mere idea of it sound absolutely wonderful to me.
Thanks Aoife! And your potato mackerel’s flavors sounded wonderful to me too!
LL
Korean food is one of my favorite cuisines and short rib stew is up right to my alley! How creative that you tweak it to halibut!
Hi Tanantha – thank you
I am just delving into Korean cooking. This halibut experiment worked very well. Looking forward to learning more about the flavor combinations of this lesser-known Asian cuisine!
LL
Love this
looks so yummy!
Hi Firefly – ‘TWAS!
I like the name of your blog, we used to catch tons of fireflies growing up in Chicago…
LL
For people who can’t eat red meat yet have to have their galbi jim fix, this is an inspired idea.
Thanks Tamar – you are the expert for sure!
LL
I recently got an iphone, and one of the first apps I added was Fish Watch; so handy. Glad you featured it here.
This is great timing with your choice to use halibut; in season now. Our fish market has been getting in some beautiful fish. I will be heading over there this week to try this out; love all of the umami you have going on here.
Happy weekend!
Thanks Debi – and by-the-way the frozen halibut is quite good too! Great for a staple in the freezer! And can be cooked from frozen in minutes.
LL
For some reason, when it comes to fish braising is one of those techniques I often forget about. This looks fantastic though and makes me want to go out and buy a tagine. It’s also such a unique ingredient list that I never would have associated with Korean cooking so love that you’ve educated me on that.
Thanks Kelly – braising the frozen fish this way, really turns out great with little handling. Regarding Korean flavors – I am in love with our local Korean market, I’m a regular there now, and buy items I never heard of, just to experiment and learn. It continues to be a fun adventure.
LL
I love how you show the Seafood Watch app in your post–what a good idea! Love all of the global inspiration behind this dish. Delicious!
Hi Marisa – thank you. That idea came to me the next morning
Beautiful!! Kind of like a jap chai, but without the noodles. I love the addition of the jujubes- an ingredient I’ve never played with. A perfectly light, flavorful and satisfying dish!
Hi Jennifer – I considered preparing salmon over japchae, but settled on this halibut dish but I still plan to make the salmon japchae one day soon.
Thanks for your comment.
LL
I’ve never heard of this Korean dish… what an amazing combination of flavors! I love chestnuts in anything so this is really something that appeals to me. You make me want to expand my horizons and try something new.. exactly what this challenge was about!
Hi Deana – please click on my link to galbi jim, I’m sure you’ll love it.
This was a terrific challenge, no?
LL
Lori Lynn,
Magnificent. All the way around. Information. Cool App. Photos. Fish selection, one of my all time favorites. Flavor combination. Creative critical thinking.
Two thumbs way, way up!
Bravo.
Hi Lazaro – you made my day
I’m so glad you like it!
And thank you for choosing such a great theme for the Cooking Club!
LL
I love the combination of flavors in this. I was also going to work with halibut, but happy to se yours. I’ve never cooked in tagine but you make it look so appetizing and easy. Loved the dish, Lorrie Lynn. Very beautiful..
Hi Bren – I see you made shark! You are the adventuress in the group!
LL
Lori Lynn, what a terrific idea to take a classic Korean short rib stew and re-make it in a gourmet dish with halibut! Excellent flavors here, love the addition of the red dates!
Thanks for including me in the Cooking Club Natasha! I am really enjoying it!
LL
Wonderful recipe Lori..red dates, chestnuts, dashi and halibut…served with couscous to drink up the remarkable sauce, oh perfection!!
sweetlife
have a great weekend!
Hi Bonnie – It makes me so happy that you could envision exactly how this dish worked from reading my post. Thank you!
LL