Fish for Dinner – Grilled Opah with Mango-Cucumber Salsa, Peanut Sauce & Coconut Rice

I’m sitting here trying to come up with a clever anecdote to share as a lead-in to this recipe but instead I’ll just bottom line it for you. Make. This. Dish.

Seriously. If you like Thai flavors, this dish will satisfy on so many levels, including the ease of making it. It’s not super-authentic “secret menu” Thai, indeed it’s pretty Americanized – meaning that the heat/spice levels are moderate (adjust to suit yourself) and ingredients are pretty easy to find. 

Join us on the next page (click Read More) for the recipe, pictures, music and opinions!

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Image: Thermodynamix

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If you’re out on the water fishing, this is the music you want to hear and this is the meal you want for dinner when you return to shore. 

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How We Prepared It:

• Grilled Opah with Mango-Cucumber Salsa, Peanut Sauce & Coconut Rice
  
• Sautéed Baby Bok Choy with Garlic and Sesame Oil 
  

Click photos to enlarge and read the captions.

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Grilled Opah with Mango-Cucumber Salsa with Peanut Sauce and Coconut Rice
Slightly modified from recipe by Luisa’s Catering
Yield: 2-4 servings

Grilled Opah with Mango Cucumber Salsa with Peanut Sauce and Coconut Rice
File Size:	645 kb
File Type:	pdf

Download File

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INGREDIENTS:

For the fish:

• 2 large fresh opah (moonfish) filets
  
• Canola oil (or other neutral oil) for brushing on fish
  
• Kosher salt
  

For Mango-Cucumber Salsa:

• 1 large fresh mango, peeled and diced
  
• ½ English cucumber, peeled and diced
  
• ½ sweet red bell pepper, diced
  
• ½ jalapeño pepper (seeds removed [unless you want a little more heat]), diced 
  
• 1 scallion, thinly sliced
  
• 1 lime, juiced
  
• Few sprigs of cilantro or flat parsley, finely chopped
  

For Spicy Peanut Sauce:

• 2 tablespoons all natural creamy peanut butter
  
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  
• 2 tablespoons seasoned rice wine vinegar
  
• 1 lime juiced
  
• 1 tablespoon Asian chili garlic sauce
  
• Optional: Sugar to taste; Hot water to thin sauce if needed 
  

For Coconut Jasmine Rice:

• 1 cup jasmine rice   Cook’s note: I used basmati rice and it was still delicious
  
• 1 cup coconut milk
  
• ½ cup water
  
• 1 teaspoon sugar
  
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  

DIRECTIONS:

• Mix all ingredients for salsa in a bowl. Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour.
  

• Whisk together all ingredients for peanut sauce. Adjust flavors to taste. 
  

• Place sauce in a squeeze bottle, or zip-lock baggie that you can snip a corner from later. Alternately plate the sauce in a small bowl and use a spoon to drizzle it across the plate for serving.
  

• For coconut rice, combine all ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a boil then turn down to low and cook (tightly covered) for 20-25 minutes. Test rice for doneness and evaporation of liquids. 
  
• When rice is done, remove pan from heat, fluff rice with a fork, cover pan with a clean dishtowel (making sure that towel does not come near any open flame) and put the lid back on. The towel helps to absorb excess moisture in the pan, which keeps the rice from becoming too gummy. 
  
• Sometimes I like to spread the rice out on a baking sheet to cool and de-clump for a few minutes before serving. 
  

• For the fish, brush filets with oil and season with kosher salt. Grill over a hot grill, about 3-5 minutes per side depending on thickness of filets.
• We like to make a “pan” out of aluminum foil on which to cook delicate fish on the grill. 
• When fish comes off the grill cover it loosely with foil and let it rest for about 5 minutes. 
  

• To serve, drizzle some of the peanut sauce on the serving platter or individual dinner plates. Pack rice into a ramekin, then invert it onto plate. Add opah filet (or half if they’re large) and top with mango-cucumber salsa. 
  

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The Verdict: This is an excellent dish with delicious Asian flavors – light yet very satisfying. I’m a sucker for coconut curry flavors anyway so between the rice and the peanut sauce I’m hooked.

In fact, this preparation works nicely with several different proteins – we grilled a pork tenderloin to go with the leftovers and it worked really well. Chicken breast, shrimp, or marinated grilled tofu would also be good.

There are several different components to the dish but they’re all easy, so don’t let that be a deterrent. Make this dish – you won’t regret it.