If you are looking for an elegant seafood recipe to impress a date, friend, or in-laws then this dorado in mussels sauce is a great option. In fact, I made this dish for my mother-in-law’s birthday dinner and it was a huge hit with everyone. Dorado is one of my absolute favorite fish, and this pan-seared version makes for a great main dish.
I always find a seared fillet of fish on a bed of something is an easy go to for an elegant dinner. Stuff like pan seared sea bass with pisto is a common dinner in this household, especially when I find a good deal on sea bass. This recipe uses dorado, which is often even cheaper, at least for those who live in Europe.
In fact, the second most popular recipe on this entire recipe blog is my Mediterranean Baked Sea Bream. Sea Bream is just another name for dorado. You’ll find that as you get more accustomed to cooking dishes from all over the world, many ingredients have multiple common names.
How To Cook Dorado In Mussels Sauce
In this recipe you can easily substitute the fish if dorado is too hard to find. Sea Bass works very well, as does arctic char. If you don’t want to use rice noodles you can use regular pasta of your choice, or no starch at all. I just like how the twirled noodles provide a bit of elevation for the pan seared dorado which assists in the presentation.
Ingredients
- 2 Dorado – also known as Sea Bream or Orata. You should buy this fish the day you are going to cook this dish. If your fish monger will fillet it for you that is convenient, otherwise you’ll have to spend a couple minutes filleting yourself.
- 20-40 Mussels – I know this seems like a huge range, but mussels vary widely in size. I use New Zealand Green Mussels in this recipe which are massive, but if you use regular small black varieties you will need to use more. (You essentially want to serve 5-10 mussels per person in the sauce).
- 250 ml (1 cup) Heavy Cream
- 250 grams Rice Noodles
- 1 large Shallot – finely diced
- 6 cloves Garlic – finely chopped
- 1.5 tbsp Ginger – microplaned or very finely minced
- 1/2 tsp Salt – or to taste. Plus more for the fish skin.
- 1/2 tsp White Pepper
- Black Pepper – freshly cracked, to taste
- 1 Lemon – zested and juiced
- Cilantro – for garnish, optional
- Oil – as needed
The first thing you (might) need to do is to fillet your own fish. This is super easy. Just cut off the head and run your sharp knife down the spine starting right by the tail. Then cut away the organs region and use tweezers to pull out any pin bones that are left. Make sure to leave the skin on.
In a saucepan on medium heat add a bit of oil and the shallots with a sprinkle of salt. Let them sweat a bit and start to get translucent, but be careful not to burn them. I’d say cook the shallot by itself for around 10 minutes.
When the shallots have gotten a bit translucent or opaque add in the ginger and another pinch of salt and stir it around. It may stick to the saucepan slightly but it will come up when you add the cream so don’t worry.
When the ginger is very fragrant add in the garlic and cook just for a few seconds. You do not want to burn the garlic so after stirring it in keep an eye on it. You should only need 15 seconds for the garlic. Then pour in the cream and stir everything up.
This is where it gets tricky as you want to time everything correctly. After adding the cream begin boiling the water for the vermicelli / rice noodles. Rice noodles cook extremely fast; Roughly two minutes is all you will need. And the fish only takes around 2 minutes as well.
In a pan on medium-high heat add a bit of oil and rub salt on the skin of the fish. Do not add salt to the flesh side, it isn’t necessary.
Lay the fish skin side down in the hot oiled pan and let cook for roughly 2 minutes. As soon as you drop the fish in the pan, drop the rice noodles in the boiling water.
Also at the same time add the mussels to the cream sauce and stir it in along with the white pepper and optional black cracked pepper. Taste for salt and adjust as needed. Turn the heat down low and let the sauce sit until ready. The mussels will be perfectly cooked by the time you are ready to plate.
After the fish has been cooking two minutes, give it a quick flip and let cook 15 seconds on the flesh side. Scoop some sauce onto your plate, grab some vermicelli straight from the pot with tongs and twirl it in the middle, then remove your dorado from the pan and lay right on top. Garnish with a few rips of cilantro and enjoy.
This is a bit of a tricky recipe to make since you want to time everything correctly. However the actual meal itself is quite easy and it is so, so delicious. If you have trouble with the timing, you can prepare the rice noodles in advance and then toss them with a bit of olive oil to keep them from sticking to each other.
See Also: Deep Fried Dorado With Miso Sauce
What To Serve With This Dorado In Mussels Sauce Recipe
If you don’t want to use vermicelli, here are a few other options to serve with this dorado in mussels sauce dish:
- Wheat Pasta – you can use regular old spaghetti noodles if it is easier as they also go great with the sauce and fish.
- Rice – You can also use a heaping spoon of steamed white rice as well. This will also provide elevation and taste great when you sop up all that sauce.
- Sauteed Veggies – Don’t want to use a starch? Just plate this fish recipe on some sauteed veggies for a lower calorie and frankly more colorful base.
Dorado In Mussels Sauce
Equipment
- 1 Saucepan
- 1 Frying Pan
- 1 Knife
- 1 Microplane | optional, but highly recommended
Ingredients
- 2 Dorado also known as Sea Bream or Orata. You should buy this fish the day you are going to cook this dish. If your fish monger will fillet it for you that is convenient otherwise you'll have to spend a couple minutes filleting yourself.
- 20-40 Mussels I know this seems like a huge range but mussels vary widely in size. I use New Zealand Green Mussels in this recipe which are massive, but if you use regular small black varieties you will need to use more. (You essentially want to serve 5-10 mussels per person in the sauce).
- 250 ml Heavy Cream 1 cup
- 250 grams Rice Noodles
- 1 large Shallot finely diced
- 6 cloves Garlic finely chopped
- 1.5 tbsp Ginger microplaned or very finely minced
- 1/2 tsp Salt or to taste. Plus more for the fish skin.
- 1/2 tsp White Pepper
- Black Pepper freshly cracked, to taste
- 1 Lemon zest of.
- Cilantro for garnish, optional
Instructions
- Begin by preparing your fish fillets if you have to do it yourself. Make sure to remove all bones but keep the skin on. Set aside.
- Set a pot of water to a boil. You will need it for the noodles at the very end.
- Put a saucepan on medium heat and add a bit of oil. Add in the shallots and a pinch of salt and stir around. Let get translucent over the next 10 minutes, then add the ginger with another pinch of salt. After a couple minutes of cooking the ginger add in the garlic and cook for 15 seconds before pouring in the cream. Reduce heat to low.
- When the sauce is beginning to thicken you have to do three things at once. 1. Add the mussels, white pepper, black pepper, and lemon zest to the sauce and stir it. 2. Drop the rice noodles in the boiling water; They cook for 2 minutes max. 3. Set a pan of oil on medium high. Salt the skin of the dorado and lay the fish skin side down in the oil. Cook for two minutes.
- When the fish is almost done you can add some sauce to your plates. Use tongs or a couple forks to grab some vermicelli rice noodles and twirl them right in the center of the sauce. Flip the fish and cook for 15 seconds on the flesh side, then lift and move immediately on top of the noodles on the plate. Rip over some cilantro and serve!