Sea Bass Thai-style

[Finprof]

Now that the sea bass season is open and there are a lot of sea bass around, here is my all-time favorite recipe for sea bass.

Sea Bass Thai-Style
from Wild Ginger Restaurant in Seattle
Printed in January 2014 Bon Appetit
INGREDIENTS
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice or Japanese rice wine
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce (such as nam pla or nuoc nam)
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 4 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
• 1 1/2 pound whole sea bass or 4 sea bass fillets
• Kosher salt
• 2 medium shallots, thinly sliced into rings
• 1 1" piece ginger, peeled, finely julienned
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced
• 2 small green Thai chiles or ½ jalapeño, thinly sliced into rounds, seeds removed
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• ¼ cup chopped fresh mint, basil, and/or cilantro
• 2 tablespoons chopped unsalted, dry-roasted peanuts
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°. Whisk lime juice, fish sauce, sugar, and 2 Tbsp. water in a small bowl until sugar is dissolved. Set lime juice mixture aside.
Heat 2 Tbsp. oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Season fish with salt and cook, skin side down, until skin is golden brown and crisp, 5–8 minutes. Transfer skillet to oven and roast until fish is just opaque in the center, 5–10 minutes longer, depending on thickness. Transfer fish to a plate.
While fish is roasting, heat remaining 2 Tbsp. oil in another large skillet over medium-high heat. Add shallots, ginger, scallions, and chiles and cook, stirring often, until beginning to brown, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring, until golden brown, about 30 seconds. Add reserved lime juice mixture to skillet and cook, stirring, until slightly reduced, about 1 minute. Remove from heat and mix in herbs and peanuts. Serve fish topped with sauce and dill.