Sesame-Crusted Fish With Butter and Ginger Sauce Recipe (2024)

Outstanding recipe! Only change I made -- in response to another cook's comment about seeds not adhering to the fish -- was to dip the fillets into an egg wash before pressing the seeds onto them, and then letting the crusted (but uncooked) filets rest in the fridge for 30-45 minutes prior to cooking. Seed crust stuck to the fish perfectly.

With no binder to hold the seeds on the fish, they fell off as we tried to brown the fish in the skillet. We may as well have added the seeds to the sauce to begin with. The sauce was pretty good, but the recipe would have worked much better if the fish was only cooked on one side in the skillet and then finished in the oven so the seeds could form a crust on at least the top side.

Delicious, but easily simplified by using a small skillet for cooking the ginger in the butter, adding the soy and water and letting it sit while the fish gets browned on both sides. Then add the the ginger mixture to the fish skillet and proceed as Mark suggests. It's messy and tricky to get the browned fish on a plate and then back into the skillet later. Same results with far less clean-up to prepare the ginger-soy before and add it to the hot skillet with the fish already in place.

Should I assume that this is 200° C or approximately 400° F?

3/2/16 This was fast, easy.... and absolutely delicious. Made with fresh Scamp (Brown Grouper), and halved the fish, but not the sauce (I love sauce). It caused it to be a tad salty from so much soy. Next time I will add a little white wine or sake in place of some of the soy.
This recipe is a testament, that a few quality ingredients can create a perfect meal.

This was the best fish I've ever eaten. I tend to order fish when I'm out (about once a month) and cook it at home at least once a week. This recipe tops anything I've tried before. I used rockfish and followed the recipe exactly.

I believe it's 200 F, just to keep the fish warm since it's finished on the stovetop...

I rinsed the fish with water, then dried it with paper towels, season it with salt and pepper, then pressed it into a plate of sesame seeds. They stuck on quite nicely, and only a few came off while browning the fish in oil. Perhaps your oil was not hot enough?

We modified the recipe a little--used 2 pans, no oven. In one pan, panfried the fish as in steps 1/2/4. In the other pan, made the sauce--then served it on the side. It was delicious, and no problem with getting the seeds to stick.

My filet cooked fast because it was thin and broke easily.(skipped putting it in the oven). Next time I'll choose a different , more stable filet . Overall very attractive, delicious and easy to prepare. Loved the ginger and soy sauce flavor. Added some fresh, chopped cilantro for garnish.

I combined equal parts sesame seeds and panko breadcrumbs and ground them up in the food processor and used that to coat the fish. I used yellowfin tuna. It stuck quite well even with all the handling, in and out of the oven. Everything else I did exactly as instructed.I think it worked out really well, would definitely do it again.

I love this recipe with Tilapia. My MacGyver move to get the sesame seeds to stick is to put 1tsp or so of cornstarch on the plate of sesame seeds and let them sit for 30 minutes or so. And I only do one side. The cornstarch also makes the coating more crispy and adds a little thickening to the sauce.

Absolutely delicious. I followed another cook’s lead and made the ginger sauce in a small pan, and then added it to the fish pan after the initial sear, skipping the plate/oven step. Used rockfish, and replaced 1 tbsp soy sauce with 1 tbsp white wine.

Seeds fell off the fish, popped and ended up all over the stove. What a mess. I would have been better off coating the fish with tahini and then a dip in the seeds and then roasting in the oven.
I also think a splash of rice vinegar would liven up the fish, it was pretty bland.

Nope- the warm oven is just to hold the fish at safe temp. It will continue to cook slightly.

Be careful when adding ginger to the hot pan- I used ginger paste and oil went everywhere! Splatters galore. Let the pan cool significantly before adding ginger.

Really good. I used sea bass, paid attention to the suggestions and used low sodium soy sauce. I also made the sauce in a separate saucepan and just added it to the fish in the skillet. Will definitely make again.

I found this to be quite a frustrating recipe. Delicious yet difficult. I followed suit with the other comments, skipping the oven altogether and pan searing, only adding the sauce in the last 30 seconds. I also experienced the same issue of the seeds falling off, so I’d dip the fish in egg wash next time. Tilapia tends to be a bit fragile, so I’d go for something heartier like stonefish. I made this with jasmine rice & broccolini, and the sauce makes an excellent drizzle over the sides.

Delicious and quick! Used a few drops of toasted sesame oil on the fish to adhere the sesame seeds + boost the sesame flavor further, and refrigerated coated fish for 20 min. Crust stayed about 90% on. Made the sauce in a separate pan to ensure a nice crispy sear on the fish.

Very tasty but the “crust” wasn’t at all crispy. Maybe because the thin red flounder fillets I used fell apart. Used a light coating of mayo to ensure the seeds stuck (and they did) but maybe not necessary. And it was pretty salty so maybe use low sodium soy sauce next time.

Delicious! Made as listed. My only note is my skillet was to big for the fish filets (only have two size skillets, need a Goldilocks size) ) so the juices all ran to the outside of the pan and had to keep scooping it over the fish.. (not bad though! (( user error not recipes fault)) so having a pan close to the right size of the fish is best to keep the juices near the cooking fish. Nice and tasty, and we sprinkled cilantro over it… yum! Will make again, and again, and again.

Really good but still didn’t beat my breaded fish. Probably best eaten over white rice.

About half the seeds fell off so I used a separate pan for the sauce. Other changes were to add 1/4 tsp grated garlic and juice of 1/2 lime. Very tasty.

Made it Dec 2022. Needs a bit more soy.

This recipe was an epic fail. I tried it with an egg wash and without and the sesame seeds did not stick in either case. The fish fell apart. Way too salty. I would not make this again.

Used black cod fillet. Very good flavor. Fast, easy to prepare.

Did this exactly as stated except for the fact that I used black sesame seeds when I couldn’t find regular. My husband was talking about it the next morning. Thank you, Marie

Th egg wash worked well. Cooked the fish in a separate pan from the sauce. Added 1-2 T white wine: reduced sauce was way too salty. With this modification, it was really good.

Outstanding recipe! Only change I made -- in response to another cook's comment about seeds not adhering to the fish -- was to dip the fillets into an egg wash before pressing the seeds onto them, and then letting the crusted (but uncooked) filets rest in the fridge for 30-45 minutes prior to cooking. Seed crust stuck to the fish perfectly.

Delicious - even using frozen trout. Took the advice below about sticking the seeds to the fish (used flour/egg) which gave a lovely crunch to the soft buttery ginger sauce. Fab.