Fish With Citrus-Chile Sauce

Recipe from Ahrin Mishan

Adapted by Ligaya Mishan

Fish With Citrus-Chile Sauce
Chris Simpson for The New York Times. Food stylist: Maggie Ruggiero. Prop stylist: Sophia Pappas.
Total Time
40 minutes
Rating
4(156)
Notes
Read community notes

This light yet earthy sauce lends a generous, almost floral warmth to any white, sturdy fish. For heat, there are crushed Calabrian chiles, smoky and sunny; for a mellow sourness, Moscatel vinegar — feel free to substitute apple cider vinegar and a little sugar to approximate the same fruitiness; and for funk, fermented white pepper (although regular white pepper will work too). Other notes include delicate marjoram, cousin to oregano but less forward, with its comforting contour of balsam, and Timur pepper from Nepal, fragrant and bright, calling to mind a just-peeled tangerine. (If you use Sichuan pepper instead, give it a citrus boost with extra orange juice and a shower of orange zest.) The sauce comes out denser than a vinaigrette but still loose and the orange-red of a young sunset. —Ligaya Mishan

Featured in: Sometimes an Improvised Sauce Is the Best Sauce

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

    For the Sauce

    • ½teaspoon Timur (Timut) peppercorns (see Tip)
    • ¼teaspoon white peppercorns, preferably fermented (see Tip)
    • 1½tablespoons Moscatel vinegar (see Tip)
    • 2teaspoons crushed Calabrian chiles (in oil)
    • 1½teaspoons fresh marjoram leaves, finely chopped
    • ½teaspoon orange or tangerine juice
    • 1small garlic clove, minced
    • 3tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
    • Salt

    For the Fish

    • 4sturdy white fish fillets or steaks (about 6 ounces each), such as halibut, red snapper, sea bass or swordfish
    • Salt and pepper
    • Olive oil
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

238 calories; 15 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 9 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 1 gram carbohydrates; 0 grams dietary fiber; 0 grams sugars; 24 grams protein; 350 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Make the sauce: Toast the Timur pepper in a dry skillet over medium heat. When the pods are fragrant but not yet darker brown, remove them from the heat and let cool. Using a spice grinder or a mortar and pestle, crush into a fine powder, along with the white peppercorns.

  2. Step 2

    In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, chiles, marjoram, juice, garlic and the freshly ground Timur and white pepper. Let sit for 30 minutes for the flavors to meld, then gradually whisk in the olive oil. Add salt. Taste and add more of whichever seasonings you like, whisking as you go. Use immediately or refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

  3. Step 3

    Make the fish: Pat the fish dry and season on both sides with salt and pepper. If cooking on the stovetop, coat a skillet with oil and heat over medium-high. (The skillet should be large enough to hold all the fillets with space between them. If it isn’t, work in batches.) Carefully add the fish to the hot oil and pan-fry the fish until browned, about 3 minutes on each side. (Gently probe the fish with a fork; if it flakes, it’s done.) Remove from the heat and transfer to plates.

  4. Step 4

    If grilling, heat a grill to medium-high. Generously brush or rub the fish with olive oil to coat. Place on the hot grill grates, skin side down if there’s skin and cover if using a gas grill. Cook until the fish releases easily from the grate, about 3 minutes. For thinner fillets, the flesh will be just opaque throughout and starting to gape and the fillets don’t need to be flipped. Simply transfer them to plates. For thick fillets or steaks, carefully flip the fish and cook until just opaque throughout, 2 to 3 minutes more, then transfer to plates. Spoon the sauce over the fish and serve.

Tips
  • Timur pepper, also sold as Timut pepper, belongs to a family of spices (including Sichuan and Sansho pepper) that leave a tingly sensation on the tongue. It has a unique citrus flavor and is sold at some markets and also available online from Burlap & Barrel, as are fermented white peppercorns.
  • If you don’t have Moscatel vinegar, substitute 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar, adjust the amount of orange or tangerine juice to 1 tablespoon, and add 1 teaspoon orange zest and ¼ teaspoon sugar.

Ratings

4 out of 5
156 user ratings
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Private Notes

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Cooking Notes

polly

To those of you complaining about unfamiliar ingredients: If NYT Cooking featured only what most of us have on hand, what new techniques would we ever have the opportunity to learn?

Sage55

Thank you for this of article. It gives me vocabulary I need to find ingredients,there are so many flavors out there, its hard to taste everything, but with this you can imagine how delicious they are. Timur peppercorns. White fermented pepper. I appreciate this information so much.

LAZ

Yeah, I don’t have the ingredients either. But if you read the article, you’ll realize that this sauce was improvised because the chef didn’t have on hand the ingredients he’d normally use. So, if you don’t have the ingredients, improvise! The article actually provides some suggestions for doing so at the end.

Hillary

I'll use some of the tips for alternates, but it's wonderful to learn about new ingredients. If you have the time and are so inclined, look them up to discover origins, uses etc.

Phil

I have the garlic and orange juice on hand. The other ingredients will need some substituting, but it's worth the effort (and actually fun) to do that to have another good sauce in the repertoire.

LAZ

The substitutions I ended up using were: szechuan peppercorns and regular black peppercorns (toasted together before grinding), cider vinegar orange juice orange zest, and oregano. And it tasted fabulous over salmon. Made a recipe and a half and the two of us gobbled it all up. Definitely a keeper.

Carol

Delicious despite the many substitutions, apple cider vinegar, black and cubeb peppercorns l, harissa instead of the calibrian peppers. I put some of the sauce on while cooking. Looking forward to trying the fermented white peppercorns!

HeatherCNola

I made this last night with fresh snapper and it was fantastic! I made a side relish/dish of castelvetrano olives, sliced San Marzano tomatoes, some pickled purple onion and walnut oil..salt and pepper and some spices to go with it. It was a terrific addition and gave a nice balance to the dish. Will definitely make this again.

mpf101

Haven’t made this yet, but if for no other reason than introducing me to Burlap & Barrel, it’s a winner! A great resource.

Roberto

I made this mostly as per the recipe. Delicious. I did take the membranes out of the chiles prior to dicing. A mistake as a little more heat would have been good. A bit more acid and salt too. Regarding the Timut pepper it’s a bit gritty between the teeth. Next time I use my big molcajete to grind them to fine dust. A spice mill would be okay too. I do have fish sauce and I plan to add a few dashes. Next time I will quadruple the recipe. My repertoire now has a new item.

Lorraine

I made this last night after ordering all the spices and ingredients online. I grilled swordfish. I thought the flavors and aromas were fantastic. I’ve been cooking seafood all summer and was getting weary of the usual methods. This brought out something umami in the swordfish. I will definitely make it again. My family loved it.

Edith N

This is the best fish sauce I have ever tasted and well worth the effort, especially considering the fish can be cooked in ten minutes or less. I'm so glad I bought the Timur peppercorns...they are so aromatic and citrusy. Had to order the Moscatel vinegar...not one of the specialty food stores I called in Philadelphia had it.

LAZ

The substitutions I ended up using were: szechuan peppercorns and regular black peppercorns (toasted together before grinding), cider vinegar orange juice orange zest, and oregano. And it tasted fabulous over salmon. Made a recipe and a half and the two of us gobbled it all up. Definitely a keeper.

Phil

I have the garlic and orange juice on hand. The other ingredients will need some substituting, but it's worth the effort (and actually fun) to do that to have another good sauce in the repertoire.

polly

To those of you complaining about unfamiliar ingredients: If NYT Cooking featured only what most of us have on hand, what new techniques would we ever have the opportunity to learn?

LAZ

Yeah, I don’t have the ingredients either. But if you read the article, you’ll realize that this sauce was improvised because the chef didn’t have on hand the ingredients he’d normally use. So, if you don’t have the ingredients, improvise! The article actually provides some suggestions for doing so at the end.

Hillary

I'll use some of the tips for alternates, but it's wonderful to learn about new ingredients. If you have the time and are so inclined, look them up to discover origins, uses etc.

Sage55

Thank you for this of article. It gives me vocabulary I need to find ingredients,there are so many flavors out there, its hard to taste everything, but with this you can imagine how delicious they are. Timur peppercorns. White fermented pepper. I appreciate this information so much.

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