Miso Glazed Sea Bass

Our Miso Glazed Sea Bass is a fusion of Japanese and Chinese culinary flavors.  We used the savory, sweet-salty flavors of Japanese miso paste and the tongue-tingling taste of Chinese green Sichuan pepper oil to create a delicious marinade for these moist, buttery fillets. 

A simple marinade of white miso paste, honey, lime juice and the zing of green Sichuan pepper oil magically packs a layer of flavor on these fillets.  The glazed fillets are baked to perfection with moist, flaky fish beneath the caramelized crust.

Miso Glazed Sea Bass

If you have never tried using miso in your culinary creations, this easy recipe is a great place to start.  We like using miso paste with our fish. The miso glaze and marinade gives the sea bass a wonderful umami flavor. This is a dinner you will want to keep in your recipe box for regular rotations. And if you like this one, check out our miso teriyaki black cod and ginger miso glazed salmon. 

Another recipe I recommend for a special event dinner is sake miso glazed sablefish, it takes a little advance prep work but well worth the extra time and guaranteed to WoW your dinner guests.  

Ingredients Needed for This Recipe

Here is a list of the ingredients you will need for this miso sea bass recipe.

Scroll down to the printable recipe card for all the details. 

• Miso. You can use white, yellow, or red miso. The darker the miso paste, the more intense you will find the flavor.
• Honey.
• Fish sauce. If you don’t have fish sauce available, you can substitute it with soy sauce and a splash of Worcestershire and rice wine. It won’t taste the same, but it will do in a pinch.
• Sichuan pepper oil. It is hard to substitute the pepper oil. If you can’t find it, you can omit it or swap it with canola oil and a pinch of freshly ground black pepper.
• Lime juice. Freshly squeezed lime juice has a more vibrant flavor than the bottled stuff, however bottled juice will work.
• Sea bass fillets. You can use fresh or frozen fish. Make sure frozen filets get completely thawed before you start the recipe.
• Sesame seeds.

What is Miso Paste?

Miso paste is a Japanese seasoning made from fermented soybeans blended with a mold called koji. Salt barley or rice are also included. Rice produces a sweet, white miso. Barley produces a darker, more intense red miso.

This savory paste adds an umami flavor to anything from fish, poultry, salad dressings, soups, marinades and even desserts, like our miso brownies. We used white miso in the marinade for these Chilean sea bass fillets and added a measure of green Sichuan pepper oil that adds a unique element to the filets.  We added a finishing drizzle of the pepper oil over the top of each fillet at serving.

What is Green Sichuan Pepper Oil?

This zesty pepper oil is used extensively in Chinese cuisine in the province of Sichuan.  The Chinese make this spicy oil from the seed husks of the pink ash shrub.  The fragrant oil is an essential ingredient in many Sichuan dishes.  The oil is not chili-hot but gives a slight mouth-numbing and tough-tingling sensation.

The oil can also be used as a finishing oil. Try drizzling a few drops on the top of a bowl of pumpkin soup for instance. The Sichuan peppercorn is one of the ingredients in the Chinese five-spice powder. 

You can find the oil in specialty stores or online. It is available at 50Hertzfoods and on Amazon.

How to Prepare Miso Chilean Sea Bass:

This is a brief run-down of the recipe. The marinade is easy and pretty straightforward, be sure to scroll to the bottom of the post for the recipe card and full instructions. If you are using more than two fish fillets just increase the measurements accordingly.

Marinate the Fish

1. Combine the white miso paste, honey, fish sauce, pepper oil, and lime juice.
2. Add the fish to a dish and pour the marinade over them. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

For the Miso Glazed Bass

1. Place the fillets on a parchment-lined, rimmed baking pan and spoon additional marinade on them.
2. Bake until the fish becomes flaky when pierced/twisted with a fork (see recipe card for details).
3. Drizzle additional pepper oil and a sprinkle of sesame seeds on top of the caramelized fillets at serving.

One caveat….the miso will begin to caramelize within 8-10 minutes and the marinade surrounding the fillets will begin to burn, no problem, just turn on the vent fan. lol

How To Check Sea Bass For Doneness:

Sea bass is a rich, fatty fish and very forgiving if a little overcooked. I test one of the fillets by piercing it in the thickest part with a fork and giving a little twist.

When done it will flake easily and be opaque in appearance. A meat thermometer will register 140-145°F. This one from ThermoWorks will register in one second so you don’t have to hold the oven door open for long.

Some Other Recipes We Are Sure You Will Love:

Wild-caught Pacific cod, one of the healthiest fish in the sea and so easy to prepare this entrée of Broiled Cod with Chive Butter.

Pan Fried Cod with Lemon-Garlic Sauce A zesty lemon-garlic sauce spooned over a delicately coated, pan-fried cod fillet enhances the flavor of this flaky fish. The delicious lemon-garlic sauce gives this simple entrée a deep elegance.

As this Spicy Blackened Tilapia cooks, the cajun spices develop a wonderful dark caramelized color. This is a simple and quick dish that will become a favorite in no time.