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I love a simple yet flavorful fish recipe to add to my dinner repertoire. Pair this honey soy sea bass recipe with a side of rice or roasted vegetables. Chilean sea bass is a firm white fish with a high fat content resulting in a buttery and rich flavor available year round. While I typically prepare this dish by pan-searing the fish, it also works great in an air fryer and I have included instructions for that preparation as well below. I like to cook this fish in a pan so the marinade caramelizes in the heat on the fish.
Combine the soy sauce, lemon juice, honey, sesame oil and garlic in a small bowl, whisking to combine.
Place the sea bass filets in a glass dish or a plastic container, and cover them with the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and/or up to 4 hours.
When ready to cook, heat the vegetable oil in a medium non-stick sauté pan over medium heat. Remove the sea bass filets from the marinade and add to the pan skin-side up. Cook the sea bass, turning on all sides until cooked through, about 6 minutes total.
While the fish cooks, add the extra marinade to a small saucepan. Bring to a rolling boil over medium heat, and reduce to about half, about 5 minutes. In a small bowl whisk together the cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of cold water. Whisk the cornstarch mixture into the sauce and continue to simmer until it coats the back of a spoon, about an additional 2 minutes.
To serve, plate the sea bass and serve with rice and roasted vegetables, drizzle with a spoon of the reduced sauce.
Since the honey soy marinade has been used with raw fish you must boil it to make it safe to use as a sauce in order to kill any harmful bacteria. When you add the remaining marinade to a saucepan and let it boil it must be at a rolling boil for at least 5 minutes. Food-borne bacteria dies at 165ºF (75ºC) – if possible I recommend using a thermometer or infrared thermometer to check the temperature. Let cool slightly then taste the marinade after boiling to make sure the flavor doesn’t need adjusting.
Heat air fryer to 400ºF (200ºC). Marinate the fish in the honey soy marinade as directed below. Remove excess marinade then add to the air fryer basket, leaving space between the filets. Cook until just flakey and cooked through, about 10 minutes.
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Great combination of flavors and super easy to make. We will 10/10 be making this again.
So happy to hear you enjoyed!
Total keeper!!! Entire family loved it. Added 1t ground ginger. Served with brown basmati and wilted spinach. It was so good!
So happy to hear it was a hit! Thank you for sharing Julie!
Absolutely delicious. Made exactly as the recipe said. I will definitely make this part of our meal rotation.
so happy to hear you enjoyed! Thank you for sharing Mary!
I have seen many people comparing sea bass and sea bream. Now my question is, Can I alternate the fish? Can sea bream give me the same taste as Sea bass? Please try to answer.
They can be used interchangeably in this recipe but be advised they are still different fish and will have slightly different texture and flavor. Sea bream has meaty white flakes while sea bass is much more delicate in texture and flavor. Hope this helps!
Sauce had the potential to be really yummy but way too much soy made it really salty and on the verge of not enjoyable, would personally opt for at most, 1/2 a cup, 3/4 is way too much
Thanks for your feedback, Abbie! I appreciate you trying the recipe and sharing your thoughts. The saltiness can definitely vary depending on the brand of soy sauce used, so reducing the amount or opting for a low-sodium version is a great way to adjust it to your taste. Hope you give it another go and find the perfect balance for you!
This recipe is five stars for a reason! So good, I’ve made it twice already.
Thank you! I’m thrilled it’s become a repeat recipe for you!
Love the recipes
Thank you so much!