Sweet Soy Glazed Basa Fillet Recipe

Hubby and I usually eat more meat at home. So recently I’ve been trying to get more fish into our diet. While salmon is usually my go-to fish for cooking at home, I’m exploring others that are affordable and easy to make. After trying different recipes, this one which uses basa fillets made it to the top of my list. This basa fillet recipe is delicious, quick to make, and the ingredients are likely all in your pantry!

Soy Glazed Basa Fillet Recipe – Poor Man’s Unagi Don

For this recipe, I use frozen basa fillets which are readily available. I often buy them when they are on sale. This way I can whip this up for dinner anytime I want.

I’ve been referring to this dish as the poor man’s version of unagi don (eel on rice). That’s because the sweet soy glaze flavour reminds me of unagi sauce. While not as thick and rich, it goes well with the basa fillet and rice. You only need 4 ingredients to make the sauce: soy sauce, mirin, sake, and sugar. All of these can easily be found in your local supermarkets. I think this sweet soy glaze will go well with other white fish too. However, I have yet to experiment it. Let me know if you do.

Print Recipe

Sweet Soy Glazed Basa Fillet Recipe

This is my poor man's version of unagi  (Unagi Kabayaki). The sweet soy glaze goes well with the basa fillet and rice!

Course: Main

Cuisine: Japanese

Keyword: fish

Servings: 4 servings

Author: Jan Chan

Ingredients

• 500g basa fillet about 2 pieces
• 3 tbsp flour
• sea salt & black pepper, to taste
• 2 tbsp canola oil divided
• white sesame seeds, toasted optional

Ingredients for the soy glaze:

• 4.5 tbsp soy sauce
• 3 tbsp mirin
• 3 tbsp sake
• 2 tbsp sugar

Instructions

• Combine all ingredients for soy glaze in a bowl and set aside. Put the flour in a shallow dish.
• Pat dry the Basa fillets and cut it into individual portions. Season the fillets with sea salt and fresh ground black pepper on both sides.
• Press the seasoned fillet pieces in the flour on both sides. Dust off excess flour and set aside.
• Heat 1 tablespoon of canola oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add half the fillets and cook until both sides are golden - about 7 minutes. Wipe off the pan and heat the remaining tablespoon of oil and cook the remaining fish.
• Once all the fillet pieces are cooked, add all of them back into the pan. Turn up the heat and pour in the soy glaze mixture. Let it boil for several minutes to reduce and thicken. While it boils, use a spoon to spoon the glaze over the fish. Serve fish over hot rice, drizzle with extra glaze and topped with white sesame seeds if desired.