Love Barramundi? This Barramundi Recipe features seared fish with mustard sauce. This flavorful dish is ready in under 20 minutes, and is perfect for Date Night!
What Is Barramundi?
Barramundi is a type of Asian Sea Bass that’s begun showing up in U.S. grocery stores recently. It’s native to Southeast Asia and Australia.
If you’ve never tasted it, know that It’s a firm white fish, and its mild flavor takes well to marinades or sauces. If you like grouper, striped sea bass, or red snapper– give this fish a try.
If you’re not sure whether or not you like those fish, but like trying new seafood options– go ahead and grab some at the store, and try this Seared Barramundi with Mustard Sauce!
Why Buy Barramundi?
Barramundi is gaining popularity, and not just for its flavor. The Monterey Bay Seafood Watch added Barramundi to it’s ‘Best Choice’ list,* and it has been showing up in news stories recently for its ability to be farmed sustainably.
Where can you find barramundi? I buy mine frozen, and currently my favorite brand is Australis, because I’m impressed with the quality of their fish as well as by their sustainable fish farming setup. (Note: This recipe is NOT sponsored by Australis– I just really like their fish!)
If you haven’t seen barramundi show up at your regular grocery store, try checking at your local health food stores or at Whole Foods.
How to Cook Barramundi
To make Seared Barramundi with Mustard Sauce, start with thawed barramundi fillets.
Your fillets will be pale, translucent white, and it is completely normal for barramundi to have a pale grey hue over part of the fish. That doesn’t mean it has gone bad.
On the other hand, if your barramundi smells incredibly ‘fishy’– it’s probably bad, because raw barramundi doesn’t have a strong scent. Toss it out.
For this recipe, we’ll be pan-searing the barramundi. For pan-searing basics, check out this tutorial on How to Pan-Sear Fish.
Pan-sear the barramundi in butter, and then mix up the yogurt and mustard sauce. Serve this sauce cold with the barramundi. Top your fish with fresh herbs if you want, and eat your fish right away
Barramundi from Indonesia: Keep in mind that barramundi imported from Eastern Indonesia is currently on the “AVOID” list because of the higher risk of chemicals and pollutant exposure, as well as bad farming practices.
Barramundi Recipe: Seared Fish with Mustard Sauce
Want more PAN-SEARED FISH? Try these:
- Pan-Seared Halibut with Bourbon Sauce
- Seared Salmon with Cherry Almond Topping
- Pan-Seared Cod with Kentucky Bourbon
Want SIDE DISH IDEAS for this barramundi recipe? Try these:
Barramundi Recipe: Seared Fish with Mustard Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 TB butter (high quality butter suggested)
- 2 fillets barramundi (3 1/2oz each), brought to room temperature
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1/8 tsp pepper
Mustard Sauce:
- 1/4 cup whole milk plain yogurt
- 1 TB whole grain mustard (prepared)
- 1 TB capers
Garnish (Optional):
- fresh chopped flat-leaf parsley or green onions
Instructions
- Heat butter in a heavy bottom pan over medium-high heat until it begins to brown. Meanwhile, pat barramundi dry. Dry it again. (Wet fish won't sear well). Sprinkle both sides of the fish with salt and pepper.
- Set fillets on hot pan, and don't touch them. Allow fillets to cook 3-4 minutes, depending on the thickness of your fish. As the fish cooks, the translucent flesh will become opaque from the bottom up. The fish is ready to flip when it has cooked about 2/3 of the way through. (If the fish sticks to the pan, give it about 30 seconds more-- it will release when it's ready.)
- Next, use a thin metal spatula to flip the fish over. Cook them approximately one minute, and then remove them from the pan.
- Mix all the yogurt, mustard, and capers together. Taste, and add a little caper brine if desired.
- Serve fish immediately with sauce and optional garnish.
I’ve never heard of this type of fish before, but it sounds pretty great! Like you, big fan of seafood! Love that mustard sauce with the capers in there 🙂 Looks pretty healthy too and perfect for a weeknight dinner 🙂
We were hooked on “My Kitchen Rules”, the Australian cooking competition, and barramundi was very often on their menu. That’s where we started knowing about this fish 😉 I have yet to see it here in Canada, but I love that it is farmed sustainably. Loving the way you prepared it!!
Awesome!!! I bet it’ll show up there soon!!!
I love barramundi too (and I really like Australis as well!). It’s a wonderful fish, and with more and more sustainable options showing up for it, it’s a fantastic choice. It’s also nice to see (and show) that a fish can be farmed and still be sustainable. LOVE the mustard sauce idea – I don’t cook with mustard enough, but I’m always so pleased with the results when I do. I think I’m going to have to remember this next time I’m looking for something different to do with fish!
Yes!! It’s only been showing up here recently, but I’m really pleased with it! And thanks!!
Funny you should mention barramundi as I just saw it at my local Whole Foods this past weekend but the line was so long I decide to wait until another trip to ask the fish monger what it was. Now Im regretting that decision as it sounds exactly like what I like! Your sauce is making my mouth water just reading about it, the capers are a perfect addition to balance the mustard in the creamy sauce. Actually, that sauce sounds like it might become a staple in my kitchen….. it would work well with so many things! Looks like Im heading back to Whole Foods for tonights dinner!
Oh let me know how you like it! I use it as a kind of ‘better healthier tartar sauce’ with a lot of my white fish at home, and it worked really well with barramundi!
This dish was incredibly flavorful and easy to make! The fish was flaky and tender, and the sauce had just the right amount of tang from the yogurt and mustard seeds! I even paired it with some wild rice and green beans to compliment the added freshness of the italian parsley. Really great recipe!
Yay! I’m so glad you loved it Maggie. Thanks for cooking with me 😀