Pan Seared Fish with Lemon Caper Sauce

The local store today have this wonderfully vibrant parrot fish, with its glistening blue skin and thick meaty steaks. I've only ever seen this bounding in and out of coral reefs on Discovery, so was curious about how it would taste. Like other reef fishes, like the Dotted Cod, it is a firm white fish but with a much deeper flavour. It also helps that this fish is neither commercially exploited nor farmed, so its flavour matures naturally. Since I was trying it for the first time, I decided to season it sparingly, and just pan-searing it, then deglazing the pan to create a lemon caper sauce. As the fish was a mature 2 footer, the thick skin-on that I got out of it had few bones, that a simple tug dislodged. Along with the fish, I served plain rice to mop up the sauce. 

Also, for that yummy crispy skin, I used a non-stick steel pan and a rice bran oil, to get the temperature up to high. Any other oil with a high smoke point can be used, like canola or refined safflower. 

Ingredients

Fish

• 2 skin-on parrot fish filets, or any other white fish.
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp pepper
• 2 tbsp rice bran oil
• 2 tbsp butter

Lemon Caper sauce

• Juice of half a lime
• 8-10 pickled capers, whole
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 tsp pepper
• 2 cilantro stalks, chopped
• Rice to serve

Method

1. Salt the fish filets liberally on both sides, and rub the salt into the flesh. If you're using thick steaks there's no need to score the skin, but for thin filets, lightly score the skin. Sprinkle the pepper on the flesh side.
2. Leave aside for 10 minutes at room temperature. 
3. Heat the oil in a steel pan on high heat. If the oil starts smoking, take it off the heat and let it cool slightly. Then put it back on high heat and immediately add the fish filets skin side down. Jiggle the pan when the fish hits the oil to dislodge it slightly, as it keeps it from sticking. Cook uncovered on high heat for a minute, and don't move the fish around. 
4. Add the butter and lower the heat to mid-high for a thin filet and medium for a thick filet (thicker than an inch).
5. Melt the butter and pour over the fish. Keep basting it till the butter soaks into the fish.
6. Cook covered for a minute, until the fish is cooked 2/3 of the way. Using a sharp firm spatula, drive it under the fish and gently flip it over. A bit of the skin may stick, but most of it should come away easily.
7. Baste again with the cooking liquour and cook on medium-high or medium (on the basis of filet thickness) until the fish is completely cooked.
8. Place on a plate with the skin-side up to show off the golden brown skin.
9. Raise the heat and cdd the garlic and capers to the butter-oil mixture in the pan. Crispen the garlic and capers slightly and deglaze with the wine. Stir vigourously to dislodge the bits stuck to the pan and cook until the wine reduces to half.
10. Add the remaining butter to the pan and melt it to create an thin emulsion. Take off the heat and add the lemon juice, pepper and cilantro. Avoid cooking the lemon juice as it makes it bitter.
11. Pour over the fish and serve immediately with rice. Fish with its delicate texture does really need any resting time.