1 whole coral trout, filleted and pin-boned
100mL reduced beef stock
50mL beef XO
300g dried beef trimmings
75g dried tomato powder
1 onion, finely diced
12 garlic cloves, minced
3 star anise
6 Szechuan peppercorns
30g miso paste
20g soy sauce
20g Shaoxing cooking wine
10g fish sauce
500g vegetable oil
Prawn emulsion:
3 prawns, cooked, peeled and deveined (heads and shells reserved)
2 egg yolks
10g confit garlic
10g Dijon mustard
300g pomace oil
15g lemon juice
Salt to taste
Beef XO:
This can be started a few days in advance. The beef needs to be dried at 67 C for 1 day, as well as the roasted tomatoes for the dried tomato powder.
Once dried, put in a spice grinder or high-powered blender. Do this in small batches and keep separate.
In a pot, place the oil with the onion, garlic and spices and cook on the lowest heat for 15-20 minutes, or until very soft. Once cooked strain the onion and reserve until later.
In the same pot use the oil again and add the beef and cook for 15 minutes. Strain off then in the same oil again cook the tomato for 5 minutes.
Then add everything back together in the same oil with the remaining ingredients, add a little dark brown sugar if needed and cook for 5 minutes.
Prawn emulsion:
Peel the prawns and devein, place into oil and bring to 52 C to cook. Allow to cool and blend until smooth.
Roast the shells and heads at 170 C for 18 minutes, once cooled blend into a powder.
In a blender, add the egg yolks, mustard, garlic and lemon juice and blend until smooth, slowly add the prawn oil until thick and emulsified, season with salt and add half the prawn powder.
Cook the trout in a non-stick frying pan in a little oil using a weight on the fish to keep flat. Cook three-quarters of the way on the skin then flip, remove from the heat and let sit in the pan for 15 seconds then remove.
Plate the fish with the XO condiment over the fish, prawn emulsion on the side, dust with prawn powder and sauce the plate with some reduced beef stock. This can also be garnished with sea herbs.
Recipe provided by Orpheus Island Lodge
