Fish upon a star (anise).

(I'm so sorry, I had to.)

I've been trying to work more seafood into my life. I've been pleasantly surprised by the selection of frozen (yes, frozen) fish available at the Harris Teeter, which I've found to be quite tasty and fresh. The lady at the fish counter tipped me off once when I stopped in for halibut and she was fresh-out. "You know," she said, "A lot of times we get it frozen here anyway and defrost when it goes into the window. The stuff in the packages is frozen immediately after it's caught, so just defrost and it'll be fine." She was right! I've successfully made oven-roasted halibut, pan-seared cod, and even sesame-crusted Ahi tuna steaks. A few tips on using frozen fish:

1. Try to get it on sale! You can put it straight into your freezer and it will keep for quite some time.
2. Just like other proteins, DO NOT defrost and then re-freeze.
3. Don't ever force-defrost; the vacuum-packed fillets defrost fairly quickly in a bowl of cold water in the fridge (give it 2-3 hours if you have time, changing the water frequently for a faster defrost).

My mom sent me a fabulous recipe for turbot with a creamy Jasmine rice and aromatic broth -- it's easily my new favorite. The broth involves coriander and star anise, and the rice is flavored with cilantro; I'm not used to using these herbs and spices, but the result is an amazing, restaurant-quality dish that's easy to replicate. The rice and broth can be frozen separately and will keep nicely, so I'd highly suggest making multiple servings of those and only enough fish for the immediate diners -- you can always sear another fillet when you need it, and I find that reheated fish is never any good.

I was astonished at how the broth transformed the whole plate...the cayenne is almost more of an effect or after-taste (as opposed to being spicy), and the cool heat from the coriander and subtle star anise (you literally use only half a star) perfumes the fish and rice beautifully. I served the broth tableside in a little cream pitcher to feel fancy. I'm generally a huge fan of broth over fish because it's a light way of imparting flavor and also keeps the fish piping hot even longer. (Try other variants of aromatic broths with fish, including ginger and shallots, just adding flavorful ingredients to chicken or vegetable broth.)

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Seared Fish with Creamy Jasmine Rice and Coriander Broth

Rice and broth serve six, fish is for two

2 6-oz fillets turbot or halibut

3½ c chicken broth

1 T coriander seeds

2 t fennel seeds

half a star anise

½ pinch cayenne pepper

salt

freshly ground white pepper

3 c water

1½ c Jasmine rice

1 T canola oil

¾ c heavy cream

3 T grated lemon zest (about two lemons)

2 T cilantro, julienned

Bring chicken stock to a boil over medium heat in a medium saucepan. Add coriander, fennel seed, star anise, and cayenne pepper, and simmer for 20 min. Season to taste with salt and pepper, strain, and set aside.

Meanwhile, place 2¾ c of the water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Add 1 t salt and 1/8 t pepper, then add the rice and lower to a simmer. Cook until underdone, still with a bit of crunch, 6-8 min. Drain and set aside.

Heat canola oil in a nonstick pan. Dry the fish with paper towels and season on both sides with salt and pepper. When the oil is hot, add fillets. Cook until nicely browned on the first side, 4-6 min. Turn the fillets over and cook until done, about another 2 min.

Meanwhile, combine the remaining ¼ cup water and the heavy cream in a pan and bring to a simmer. Add the rice and stir to incorporate. Add just the seasoning. Add about 2 T of the lemon zest and the cilantro and stir to incorporate. Gently reheat the sauce and add the remaining lemon zest.

To serve, place about ½ cup rice in the center of each plate (I used a little biscuit cutter to make a pretty cylinder/to be fancy). Pour sauce over fish and rice, and serve immediately.