Panfried snapper with saltbush butter

This snapper by chef Chris Jordan is like nothing you’ve never tasted before, served with an umami-packed seaweed and bonito flake butter with bright notes of Australian Indigenous lemon myrtle and saltbush that add complexity and flavour. For an extra special finish, serve with a spoonful of fermented ooray (also known as Davidson plums).

Credit: Jiwon Kim

• serves

  2

• prep

  20 minutes

• cook

  10 minutes

• difficulty

  Mid

Ingredients

• Vegetable oil, for drizzling
• 4 skin-on snapper fillets (180-200 g each)
• ½ lemon, juiced
• Sea vegetables, to serve (karkalla, purslane or sea blight)
• Fermented ooray, to serve (see Note)

For the seaweed and saltbush butter

• 250 g butter, softened
• 1 tsp ground lemon myrtle
• 1 tsp ground saltbush
• ½ tsp ground seaweed (dried wakame blitzed to a powder)
• ½ tsp bonito powder (bonito flakes blitzed to a powder)
• 20 g confit garlic cloves (see Note)

Resting time: 5 minutes

Fermenting time (optional): 3-7 days

Instructions

1. To make the butter, combine the ingredients in a food processor and blitz until smooth.
2. Heat a large, non-stick frying pan over high heat. Add a drizzle of vegetable oil, then add the snapper fillets, skin-side down. Reduce the heat to medium and cook until the fish is golden-brown.
3. Add the butter and cook until a nutty-brown colour. Flip the fish and baste the skin with the butter. Cook until done to your liking (or the internal temperature of the fish registers 52˚C). Remove the fish to a plate and leave to rest.
4. Remove the pan from the heat and stir the lemon juice through the butter. Divide the snapper fillets between plates and spoon over the browned butter from the pan. Garnish with fresh sea vegetables and serve the fermented ooray (see Note) on the side.

Note 

• For the fermented ooray (Davidson plums), you will need 100 g deseeded Davidson plums, a pinch of mountain pepper, 2 g salt (2% salt to fruit) and xantham gum, to thicken. Vacuum seal the cleaned Davidson plums, salt and mountain pepper in a vacuum sealer bag. Leave at room temperature and ferment depending on the time of year, slower fermentation during winter and faster during summer. Ideally, you want the bag to stay at 23 ˚C for 5-6 days. While the plums are fermenting, the bag will inflate with carbon dioxide. Open the bag to release any carbon dioxide and reseal, if needed. Once fermented, blend the plums and liquid with a small quantity of xantham gum to reach a thickened cream-like consistency. Use as needed.
• Confit garlic is available from specialist retailers or you can make your own.

Photography by Jiwon Kim.

Want more from The Cook Up? Stream all the seasons here and for free at SBS On Demand.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.