Halibut with Carrot-Shiitake-Miso Broth & Udon Noodles

Okay, this is where I try to reverse-engineer a meal from out at a restaurant. How did I do? Pretty well! This is from wonderful meal that we had at the Aquarius restaurant in Santa Cruz last month, with jwa’s parents.

That amazingly tasty dish: California white bass with udon noodles, lychee glaze and miso-truffle broth. So, yeah, mine was similiar, but a little different. Swapped bass for halibut, guava for lychee, no truffles in broth and added veggies! I basically used the flavorings for the broth that I’ve used before making a miso soup (ginger, garlic, soy sauce, mirin). It worked well here.

Oh, I loved this. I want to make it again. I’d say the glaze is probably optional, and when I make it again, I might just skip it, but it was fun to try and come up with a replacement for the lychee glaze. Doesn’t even need it though, imho.

There are a lot of steps, but stuff is do-able ahead of time. You could easily make the glaze and the miso broth earlier in the day or even a day before.

Halibut with Carrot-Shiitake-Miso Broth & Udon Noodles
1/2 cup guava juice
1 tbsp jalapeno jello ha! jelly
10-12 shiitake mushrooms, stem removed & sliced
2 tbsp olive or peanut oil
3 cups chicken broth
2.5 tbsp white miso
1 tbsp grated ginger
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp mirin
2 green onions, chopped
1/4 cup finely grated carrot (I used a micro plane grater)
3/4 pound halibut halibut, cut into 2 pieces (two 6 oz pieces)
salt & pepper
cooked udon noodles (enough for 2 servings)
toasted sesame oil
chopped, fresh cilantro, sesame seeds for garish

Make the glaze – combine the guava juice and jalapeno jelly in a small pan and bring to a boil. Reduce until you have about 2 -3 tablespoons of glaze and it is all thick and syrupy. Remove from heat and cool.

Heat a pan over medium heat and add 1 tbsp of the oil. Add the mushrooms and saute until soft and getting a little color, 7-9 minutes. Set aside.

In a sauce pan, add the broth, miso, mirin, garlic, ginger and soy sauce. Whisk to combine and simmer until the miso dissolves and flavors start to meld, 10 or so minutes. Add the cooked mushrooms, grated carrots and green onions. Keep warm.

Cook the udon noodles in boiling, salted water. When done, drain and toss with a little sesame oil. Keep warm. I had mine in a bowl and covered with foil. I used frozen udon noodles, but you could also used dried.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Salt and pepper the halibut and then slather the glaze on the flesh side. Heat a pan over medium-high heat and add the remaining tablespoon of oil. Add the fish, skin side down, glaze-side up.

Cook for about 4-5 minutes, getting the skin nicely crisp. Then, move to the oven and roast for 5-7 minutes, until the fish is cooked through. While the fish is in the oven, rewarm the miso broth of needed.

Put it all together:

Divide the udon noodles between two bowls. Ladle in the broth and top with a piece of the halibut. Garnish with some sesame seeds and chopped cilantro leaves.

So good! I always forget how much I love miso in things! Must use more miso…