Author Notes
Recently, Grace Parisi had a recipe for trout that is glazed with the sticky-sweet sauce typically served with unagi (eel). We eat unagi on rice with avocado quite a bit, and I was really intrigued by the idea of using trout, which is so easy to find in Colorado. We tried Parisi's recipe with a few modifications, and I was surprised at how eel-y the trout turned out. This dish is quick, cheap, and satisfying. We used a green vegetable of some form -- at the time, we had sugarsnaps, but we'd usually do a sesame kale or spinach. —savorthis
Test Kitchen Notes
WHO: Savorthis has a website with the tagline “Eat what I want.” And we also want to eat what savorthis wants.
WHAT: Trout disguises itself as eel and chooses avocado as its worthy sidekick.
HOW: While the vegetables are quick-pickling, blend together a thick sauce of sautéed shallots, ginger, soy sauce, mirin, and sugar. Use that to glaze trout fillets as they broil, and then serve the fish on a pile of rice and top it with spicy avocado-mayonnaise, tangy pickles, and greens for good measure.
WHY WE LOVE IT: When we can’t get our hands on high-quality eel (which is most of the time), we now have the option of turning to broiled trout, instead. Avoid boring plain fish fillets by using Japanese-inspired flavors (and a non-Japanese avocado topping) as the source of new excitement. —The Editors
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Ingredients
- For the trout:
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1
medium shallot, chopped
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1 tablespoon
ginger, chopped
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1/4 cup
soy sauce
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1/4 cup
mirin
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2 tablespoons
sugar
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2
trout fillets
- For the accoutrements:
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1/4 cup
rice vinegar
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1/2 teaspoon
sambal (hot chili sauce)
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2 teaspoons
sugar
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1 teaspoon
salt
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Pepper, to taste
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2
carrots, julienned
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1
cucumber, julienned
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1
jalapeño, seeded and julienned
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1
avocado
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2 tablespoons
mayonnaise
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1 tablespoon
sweet chili garlic sauce
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1/2 teaspoon
soy
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1/2
lime, juiced
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Sesame seeds, for garnish
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Cooked rice, for serving
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Cilantro, for garnish
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A green side (asparagus, sugarsnap peas, kale, spinach), cooked quickly in oil with garlic
Directions
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Start with the accoutrements: Mix together the vinegar, sambal, sugar, salt, and pepper until dissolved. Add the carrots, cucumber, and jalapeño, then toss and set aside. (This can be done a day or two ahead and stored in the fridge.)
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Preheat broiler. While it heats, cook the shallots over medium-low heat in a pan with a bit of oil until they're medium brown. Add the ginger and cook for few minutes, then add the soy, mirin, and sugar and simmer on low for about 12 minutes, or until the sauce is thick. Be careful not to burn it. Cool the sauce and blend it using an immersion blender (or transfer the sauce to a blender). Set aside.
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Broil trout skin side-up for a couple of minutes, then remove the skin. Slather the sauce on the trout and broil the fish for a couple additional minutes, slathering twice more as it cooks. Gently flip the fillets and cook them for few more minutes, again slathering twice. Set aside.
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Mash avocado and mix with mayonnaise, sweet chili sauce, soy, lime juice, and salt and pepper to taste.
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Mound rice on a plate and top with trout, pickled vegetables, your green vegetable of choice, and mashed avocado. Garnish with sesame seeds and cilantro.
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