Sesame Ginger Seared Cod with Asian Vegetables

My Sesame Ginger Seared Cod is a fancy pants sounding recipe that comes together super quickly and easily thanks to some great store-bought ingredients (eek! I sound like Sandra Lee!)

It is a healthy, delicious recipe that is elegant enough for company and fast enough to whip up for yourself after a long day of work or school. My biggest advice: TURN ON THE FAN ABOVE YOUR STOVE WHEN SEARING THE COD!! And maybe open a window, too. There is nothing scary or intimidating about the recipe; it just tends to generate a lot of smoke.

My smoke detector went off in the middle of cooking my delicious dinner, and I proceeded to run around like a chicken with its head cut off. And yes, even though I live in the South, I do have a real smoke detector. Unlike this redneck smoke detector:




Remember, kids: only YOU can prevent kitchen fires!



Food Porn Description: Sink your teeth into the tender cod, feeling it flake apart in your mouth after you penetrate the delicious, crunchy sesame seed crust. Savor the exotic Asian ginger flavor as it coats your tongue....warm, light, and delicious.


Ingredients:

• 1 cod fillet. Any firm white fish, such as halibut, would work as well. If you are really looking to impress, you can also use ahi tuna.

• 1/2 cup Whole Foods Sesame Ginger Spice Blend. This is where the store-bought cheat comes in. This stuff has white and black sesame seeds, ginger, and other mysterious Asian spices. I suppose you could make your own coating with some sesame seeds and ginger powder if you can't find this stuff, though.
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• 1/2 cup Sesame Ginger marinade. Another store-bought cheat! I told you this was easy. I used the dark Kroger one, but there are dozens of sesame ginger marinades out there.

• 1 tbsp. sesame oil

• 1/2 package frozen Asian stir fry veggie mix. No need to thaw.
  

Only five ingredients for this fancy sounding meal? Yessir! Feel free to serve with rice as well.


Directions:

Marinate your cod in the Sesame Ginger marinade for at least half an hour. Longer is better though (and yes, that's what she said). The marinade not only flavors your fish, but helps the crust stick to it later on. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.




Heat your sesame oil in a skillet over medium high. Dip one side of your cod into the Sesame Ginger blend and let it all stick to the fish. Flip it over and coat the other side, too. Put the fish into the skillet with the sesame oil once the skillet is hot.




Let it sear in the hot skillet and DON'T MOVE IT! Let the heat sear the crust into the fish and get the sesame seeds nice and toasty brown. Smokin'!




After a couple minutes, flip the fish to sear the other side. Once both sides are toasted up (a couple minutes on each side), put the cod on a cooking sprayed, aluminum foiled baking sheet and pop it in the oven to finish cooking. It will need about 10-12 minutes.





Meanwhile, pour your frozen Asian veggies into the skillet and stir to coat in the leftover marinade and sesame bits. Add another splash of the Sesame Ginger marinade to create an easy sauce.




By the time your fish is cooked through, your veggies will be warm and crisp-tender. Pour them onto a plate, top with the fish, and wow your guests! Or yourself. I just wowed myself.