Pan-Seared Honey Soy Sea Bass
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This honey soy sea bass is an easy, flavor-packed seafood dinner featuring tender, buttery Chilean sea bass glazed in a sweet and savory honey soy marinade. The rich, high-fat texture of sea bass makes it ideal for cooking in the pan, allowing the marinade to caramelize beautifully as the fish pan-sears to golden perfection. Serve it with steamed rice or roasted vegetables like bok choy for a simple yet elegant meal that comes together quickly. While I prefer pan-searing for maximum flavor, this recipe also works well in the air fryer for an even easier preparation. If this one’s on repeat in your kitchen, you’ll also want to bookmark another great weeknight fish option like this pan-seared white fish, teriyaki salmon bowl and baked salmon with lemon dill sauce.
Why You’ll Love This Honey Soy Sea Bass
- Restaurant-quality at home – Rich, buttery sea bass paired with a glossy honey soy glaze feels elevated but is simple to make.
- Quick and weeknight-friendly – Cooks in under 20 minutes from start to finish.
- Pairs with everything – Serve with rice, noodles, or roasted vegetables for an easy complete meal.
Key Ingredients in This Recipe
- Chilean Sea Bass – Chilean sea bass flakes well when cooked making it perfect for pan frying until just cooked through so the marinade caramelizes around it. Look for shiny bright white filets. Because it is such a rich fish I often serve smaller portions than I do with a lot of other fish dishes. Make sure to check for any bones in the middle of the filets. They can be removed with tweezers.
- Garlic – I recommend mincing the garlic rather than chopping it so it blends more seamlessly into the sauce. I use fresh cloves of garlic rather than jarred pre-minced versions for the best flavor.
- Soy Sauce – The majority of the flavor in this sauce comes from the complex, umami flavors of the soy sauce. I recommend using low-sodium soy sauce so the salt can be adjusted as needed.
- Honey – Honey sweetens the marinade while the sugar in the honey caramelizes on the fish as it cooks in the pan.
- Lemon juice – Freshly squeezed lemon juice adds acidity to the marinade and balances the sweetness of the honey.
- Sesame oil – Toasted sesame oil adds a nutty flavor to the sauce.
- Cornstarch – Cornstarch is combined with a bit of cold water then whisked into the sauce to thicken it. While boiling the marinade to kill the bacteria will thicken the sauce slightly, I like to make sure it’s thick enough to coat the back of a spoon for serving so it doesn’t run all over the plate.
A full ingredient list with exact amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
Swaps and substitutions
- Fish: Other fish such as salmon, steelhead trout or other white fish like tilapia or cod can work well with this simple marinade. If using a thinner fish you may need to adjust the cooking time so it does not overcook.
- Cornstarch: For a thinner sauce continue to boil until slightly thickened and omit the cornstarch slurry.
Pro Tip
Fish only needs to marinate for a short time – around 30 minutes and up to 4 hours – otherwise it can start to break down over time and get mushy.
How to Make Honey Soy Sea Bass (Step-by-Step)
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.
A note about boiling marinades to make sauces
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.
How to Bake Honey Soy Sea Bass
Heat oven to 425ºF (220ºC). Remove the fish from the marinade and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Bake sea bass until just cooked through, about 12 to 14 minutes depending on the thickness.
How to Make This Recipe in an Air Fryer
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, flipping halfway through, about 8 to 10 minutes total.
Other Recipes to Try
If you enjoy this honey soy sea bass recipe, give these a try and follow me on Instagram:
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Pan-Seared Honey Soy Sea Bass
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Ingredients:
- ½ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- ¼ cup honey
- 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 (4-ounce) Chilean sea bass filets
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
Instructions:
- 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.
Notes:
Nutrition:
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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!
Wow…this was amazing! Made this and paired it with ginger wild rice and brown basmati and a carrot ribbons with scallions Japanese style side salad and it was a total hit! Thank you. Will definitely be adding this to our collection of family recipes – Love! It was simple to prepare but looks gourmet and tastes very high end!
Wow, thank you so much! I love how you paired it with the ginger wild rice and that carrot ribbon salad — sounds incredible. I’m so glad it was a hit with your family and that it’s going into your recipe collection!
Forgot the stars!
Terribly salty and unpleasant. The sauce is tasted basically of pure soy sauce and ruined an expensive cut of sea bass.
If you do proceed, do not put any extra sauce on fish after cooking as it will overpower. Cook time was also much longer, ended up finishing in the oven to avoid burning the outside.
This is a great way to ruin a great fish