Chilean Sea Bass

First of all, I'd like to let everyone know that the original name for Chilean Sea Bass is Chilean Toothfish. The powers that be decided that name was not appetizing enough for the american palate, so now we eat sea bass, despite the fact that this fish is completely unrelated to the bass fish that you may be familiar with from fishing trips on the river, or whatever.

But what's important is that this fish is freakin' amazing, especially if you give it a nice marinade and a quick sear. So put any ideas of what a "toothfish" might look like out of your head and get ready for some tasty eating.
YOU WILL NEED
1 cup of soy sauce or tamari
1 cup of fresh-squeezed orange juice
4 thick sea bass steaks

In terms of ingredients, I gotta recommend that you start buying better soy sauce. I really dig the unpasteurized soy sauce that is actually full of living bacteria and yeast that is left over from the fermentation process.
Also, don't skimp on your fish. We're going to give this only a really light sear, so quality is essential.

Lay the steaks in a dish and cover with the soy sauce and orange juice. Marinate the fish, covered, on the counter-top for at least an hour, making sure that the mixture has reached room temperature, assuring even cooking. Make sure to flip halfway through if you don't quite cover the fish.

Heat up an oiled cast iron skillet or a stainless steel pan until it's really, really, really hot. It should literally be smoking, regardless of the kind of oil you use. Olive oil smokes at lower temps, so use something a little more stable. A lot of folks swear by animal fats like lard, which have very high smoking points, but I generally just use veggie oil. Peanut and grapeseed oil works very nicely, I'm told.

Remove your fish from the marinade and pat it dry with a paper towel.

Throw the sea bass onto the skillet, searing each side for 2-3 minutes for people who like sushi and 4-5 minutes for people who like canned tuna. But this can vary, based on thickness, so just use your judgement, and DON'T OVERCOOK IT.

Your sea bass should look like mine does up top, namely, freakin' delicious. I did a simple penne pasta and veggie saute and a salad with this.

This fish does best with a nice, dry white wine with some acidity and focused fruit. I recommend an unoaked chardonnay, or a nice viognier or gruner-veltliner.