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5.0 from 18 votes

Pan Seared Mahi Mahi

This recipe works with really any good slab of fish fillet. You want something at least 1/2 inch thick, so larger fish are the rule here.

Prep Time
30 mins
Cook Time
30 mins
Total Time
1 hr 15 mins
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 664 kcal
Course: Side Dish , Main Course
Cuisine: Caribbean

Ingredients

RICE
  • 1 cup black beans
  • 3 cloves garlic, smashed
  • 1/2 onion
  • salt
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 yellow onion, minced
  • 1 poblano or green bell pepper, minced
  • 2 cups long grain rice
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1/4 cup sherry or cider vinegar
SALSA
  • 1 cucumber, peeled if the skin is bitter
  • 4 Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
  • 1 white onion, minced
  • 2 serrano chiles, minced
  • 1/2 cup lime juice
  • salt to taste
  • 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
MAHI MAHI
  • 1 1/2 pounds mahi mahi
  • salt
  • 3 tablespoons grapeseed, avocado or other high smoke point oil
  • Black pepper to taste

Instructions

RICE
    Cup of Yum
  1. Cover the beans by about 3 inches of water and bring to a boil. Add the smashed garlic and the half onion. Simmer until tender, then add salt to taste. Remove the garlic and onion and discard. Strain the liquid off the beans, but save both the beans and the liquid.
  2. In a pot you can cook the rice in, sauté the onion and pepper in the olive oil until soft, then add the rice. Sauté this for a minute or two. Measure out enough of the bean liquid to cook the rice in -- look at the package, but it's normally 2:1 with long-grain rice, so 4 cups. If you don't have 4 cups of bean cooking liquid left, add water to get there. Pour this in and stir well.
  3. Add the beans, cumin, oregano and bay leaves, stir well and cover. Cook the rice until done, then gently fold in the vinegar. Remove the bay leaf.
SALSA
  1. Dice everything small and toss everything together except the cilantro. You'll mix that in right when you serve. Hold this at room temperature.
MAHI MAHI
  1. Salt the fish well and set it on a cutting board or plate at room temperature while you make the rice. I do this once the beans are cooked.
  2. Heat a sauté pan over medium-high heat. Pat the fish dry with paper towels. Swirl the oil in the pan, and when you see a wisp of smoke rise, lay the fish down, one at a time. The moment the fish hits the pan, jiggle it a bit to slick the bottom of the fish. Do this with all the fish until the pan is full -- it is important that the pieces of fish do not touch once they get to searing.
  3. Give it a minute, then tilt the pan to pool the oil and baste the top of the fish with a spoon until the meat turns opaque. Let the fish cook until it can be easily lifted off the pan, about 5 minutes or so. It's OK if there are a few sticky spots, but it should not be fused to the pan. If it is, keep cooking it. It will release.
  4. When the fish is ready, set the pieces seared side up and grind pepper over them. Serve over the rice with the salsa.

Notes

  • Salt the fish 30 minutes before you cook it.
  • Pat the fish dry using paper towels.
  • Heat the pan thoroughly before you add the oil. The thinner the fish the hotter the heat. A normal piece of mahi mahi will want medium-high. Anything thicker than 1 inch goes down to medium.
  • Add the oil and swirl to coat. When is just barely begins to smoke, place the fish skin side down, or in the case of pan seared mahi mahi, the side that used to have the skin.
  • The moment the fish hits the pan, give the pan a little jiggle so the fish slides on the oil before searing. This helps prevent it from being cemented to your pan.
  • Start basting the fish immediately, tilting the pan to spoon the oil over the fish. Baste until it turns opaque.
  • Don't move the fish until it wants to be moved. That is usually once you see a significant crust from where fish meets pan. If you have to scrape the fish off the pan, it's not ready. Be patient.
  • When you remove the fish, let it rest seared side up. Grind pepper over it the moment it hits the cutting board or plate.

Nutrition Information

Calories 664kcal (33%) Carbohydrates 98g (33%) Protein 44g (88%) Fat 10g (15%) Saturated Fat 2g (10%) Cholesterol 124mg (41%) Sodium 167mg (7%) Potassium 1424mg (41%) Fiber 8g (32%) Sugar 6g (12%) Vitamin A 1187IU (24%) Vitamin C 50mg (56%) Calcium 115mg (12%) Iron 5mg (28%)

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 4servings

Amount Per Serving

Calories 664

% Daily Value*

Calories 664kcal 33%
Carbohydrates 98g 33%
Protein 44g 88%
Fat 10g 15%
Saturated Fat 2g 10%
Cholesterol 124mg 41%
Sodium 167mg 7%
Potassium 1424mg 30%
Fiber 8g 32%
Sugar 6g 12%
Vitamin A 1187IU 24%
Vitamin C 50mg 56%
Calcium 115mg 12%
Iron 5mg 28%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.