Miso aioli sauce, kabayaki drizzle add tasty finish to baked fish

You can tell Grant Oura of Waikapu has culinary training. Even what he calls a “simple preparation” includes a delicious aioli sauce made from mayonnaise, red miso, fresh lemon juice, minced garlic and ginger.

His Miso Baked Fish is a standard entree offered at his food truck by the Maui Lani Village Center. Since it opened a year ago, Originals by Grant Oura, or OGO, has been a popular lunch and dinner destination on Maa Street.

For this dish he prefers to use locally caught fish like onaga, mahimahi, ono or opakapaka but says salmon works well, too. After baking for 15 to 20 minutes, he spreads the aioli to top the fish and then broils it, resulting in an attractive char.

If that’s not enough to make your mouth water, he drizzles on kabayaki sauce, easily found in the Asian food section of many grocery stores. You may be more familiar with it as the glaze commonly used to coat unagi and anago eel. Finished with sliced green onions, this fish dish is colorful as well as tasty.

Oura was formally trained at the University of Hawaii Maui College Culinary Arts Program. Then he learned from stars of the food world including chefs John Howie of Seattle and Hawaii’s Alan Wong, Bev Gannon, Mark Ellman and Sam Choy. Before opening his food truck, he worked at various hotel restaurants and at Rua Catering in Wailuku.

Based on his food truck’s popularity, many suspect it won’t be long before he finds a more permanent restaurant site. He generously shares this recipe so you can make this fast and tasty dinner for your family.

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OGO’s Miso Baked Fish

• Nonstick oil spray
• 4 4- to 5-ounce fish fillets such as onaga, mahimahi, ono, opakapaka or salmon
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 3 tablespoons red miso paste
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 pinch minced ginger
• Kabayaki sauce
• Sliced green onions as garnish

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray baking pan with nonstick spray. Place fish fillets on pan. Bake in oven until fish is cooked, about 15-20 minutes.

For miso aioli sauce, mix mayonnaise, miso, lemon juice, garlic and ginger. Remove fish from oven when cooked. Switch oven setting to broil. Brush miso aioli sauce on the four fillets. Return to oven and broil until sauce browns, about 1 minute. Watch carefully. Remove from oven and transfer to a serving platter. Drizzle fish with kabayaki sauce and garnish with sliced green onions. Makes 4 servings.

Lynette Lo Tom offers recipes for the Maui home cook. She is the author of the “A Chinese Kitchen” and “Back in the Day” cookbooks. Send your ideas to lynette@brightlightcookery.com or call 275-3004.