Guy's Big Bite (2006–…): Season 18, Episode 8 - Lighten Up with Big Flavor - full transcript

Welcome to "Big Bite."

You know, the older I get, the
healthier I think I'm eating.

I mean, really.
I'm not even trying to do it.

It's just -- I need it.

So, what's one of the ways
I'm doing that? With fish.

Yeah, not your regular fish
that sounds boring.

You know
this is "Big Bite"-style.

We got to big with the flavor,

starting off with a Chilean sea
bass wrapped in a banana leaf

infused with a citrus marinade

cooked on the grill
in a banana leaf



served with a spicy grilled-corn
salsa and pickled red onions.

Now, you want to talk
about flavor on top of
flavor on top of flavor.

On the side, I've got
red-quinoa-and-mango salad.

It's got diced tri-colored
bell peppers, fresh mint,

and Dijon vinaigrette.
I mean, this is so on point.

And this is to prove

that healthy
can actually mean flavorful.

I know. Listen, we start
saying there's gonna be
fish on the menu,

people are like,
"Eh, I don't know.

Call us when you're having
Philly cheese steak," or,
"When is it taco night?"

But you know what? The way
we're gonna do this fish,
wrapped in the banana leaf,

you just wait --
Big, big flavor on the way.

So I've sliced up some thin red
onions, and here's the kicker.

So the red onions like this,
we're gonna pickle them,



and I love pickled veggies --
giardiniera, you name it.

But here's the thing with these.

They got a nice little color
to them.

What we're gonna do is use
a little bit of this beet

to really bring some real
nice, big, red color to it.

It's not gonna change the flavor
a bunch.

But you know me.
I'm a big beet fan.

Okay.
Let's get some vinegar in here.

Apple cider vinegar
is perfect for this.

Why? A little bit of sweetness,
not too harsh.

And I need a good amount.

Add some sugar.

A couple tablespoons of that.

Salt.

And one more thing --
a little black peppercorn.

I don't know,
about a dozen of those. Okay.

Now, I'm not too worried
about it right now.

I'm just gonna drop these in.

Watch it, 'cause they will stain
everything.

Wrong day to wear a white shirt
on "Big Bite."

I don't know
what I was thinking.

So drop those in. Start to
leech out some of that color.

In with the red onions.

We're not gonna let this go
super far.

As soon as we dissolve
and warm it up

and start to pull that color out
of the beets, we're done.

I still want to have the crunch.

Now, you see how there's
not enough liquid in there

and I've got a ton of vinegar?

I'm just gonna hit it
with a little bit of water

just so everything is submerged.

Perfect.

Fantastic. All right.

Now let's get into this fish.
Okay.

I talk about it all the time.
Got to have a fishmonger, right?

Look what he got for me today.

Huh? Come on now.

Nice, big filet,

and I'm talking like half
the fish of Chilean sea bass.

Okay, so look at this.

Nice, white, firm fish.
Flaky. Gorgeous.

If you can't get the sea bass,
don't stop on the menu idea and
say, "Oh, I'm not gonna do it."

Just go ahead and find
yourself -- talk to
your fishmonger,

and find yourself a fish
that's kind of firm

but has got some really nice
flaky texture to it, okay?

So we'll go in half.

A little bit of the
beet already flavoring the fish.

That's fantastic.
Explain that one.

Okay. So these are done.
Now let's talk about --

Now let's talk about making
the marinade for this.

This is gonna be
a really simple marinade.

A couple oranges...
go right into a bowl.

Now, what do we like
about the orange?

We like the zest.
If you can get this zest

and really start to impart
that flavor,

we don't want to put too much
of the citrus in there

because we'll start to, what?
Cook the fish, exactly.

We're not making seviche.

So get a nice little bit
of the zest off of here.

These are pretty big oranges.

I can probably get away
with one of them.

This is where having that juicer
really comes into play.

If you can get it
to fit in there.

Look at that.

Okay.

Now, throwing in
a little achiote paste,

or a little achiote seasoning,
I should say.

There's all different kinds
of this,

but it comes
from the annatto seed.

In this situation,
it's been ground up

with a little bit of spice,
probably a little paprika,

maybe a little cayenne,
maybe a little cumin.

So there will be
different styles out there.
Find the one you like.

But you want to talk
about awesome color?

This is where all your color
is gonna come in.

Okay.

So there we go.

A little of the achiote.

A touch of some cumin.

The flavors are gonna be subtle
working with this fish,

but there's all this flavor
coming in from this banana leaf.

Okay.

Mix that.

A little extra-virgin olive oil
to cut it a bit.

I will be adding salt and pepper
to it later when I put the
fish in the banana leaf,

But for right now,
I'm just letting that dissolve.

There we go.
All right.

Now we're gonna let this
counter-marinade

just about 45 minutes.

Remember, we can over-marinate
this fish.

Even though I didn't use
a ton of the citrus,

it can over-marinate.

So watch yourself.

Look at this white, flaky,
firm fish.

Those thinner pieces --
That's usually Ryder's favorite.

There we go.

They cook a little more.
Don't seem so intimidating.

Okay.

Pour the marinade over the top.

The reason for the resealable
bag is I can get a lot of work

out of a little bit of marinade
by having the bag.

Because now
I can move it around, okay?

And then if I squeeze out
the excess air --

You see this?
Squeezing out that excess air.

Everybody's getting marinated,

one orange, maybe three
tablespoons of the olive oil.

We're in good shape.

So I'll let that set.

Right there.

Now take a look at this.

Take a look
at what's going on here already.

Look at the color already
that's happening

from that little bit of beet
that I put in there.

Okay. That's enough.

It's just gonna continue
to steep in that hot liquid.

So I'll just go ahead, bring it
over here, and let it cool down.

Ahh, that's gorgeous, huh?

We'll take the beets out
when we eat the pickled onions.

But just for the time being,
we'll just them sit there

and just continue to bring
the color to the dish.

All right. Now let's talk
about the corn salsa.

I got to grab the whole thing.

I got it all.
The bounty of the county.

So what am I gonna love
about this?

Well, the charring the veggies
right off the bat.

So, we'll grab some
of these Fresno chilies,

give them a little squirt
of some olive oil.

A little salt and pepper.

Let me get the poblanos in here,
as well.

Hit those onto the grill --

a cross between hardwood
and briquettes.

Briquettes to give me
that long-running temperature.

Hardwood to really bring in
some of the flavor.

So we'll throw these down,
let them start charring.

I've got to husk some corn.
Anybody want to help?

That's what I figured.
Well, come back.

I'll husk the corn,
throw it on the grill.

Poblanos,
we got the Fresnos down.

The beets -- The onions
are pickling in the beets.

And we'll put fish
into banana leaf.

I know it sounds like a mess,
but it's gonna be a good time.

See you in a bit.

Oh! Oh!
Hey, hey! Hey!

Right over here! Right here.
Come on over to the sink.

I'm doing the real exciting
piece of rinsing the quinoa.

Yeah, it's a real hot topic.
There we go.

Got to rinse the quinoa
and get rid of the saponin.

Like, what's saponin?

It's this bitter little exterior
on the quinoa

that is probably one
of the reasons a lot of
people don't eat quinoa.

Sometimes, you'll find
quinoa and it already
has that rinsed off it.

But for the most part,
you need to rinse it.

So into some boiling water,
and I'm gonna give this a cover.

This beautiful red quinoa's
gonna sit here

and just steam and pop.

You know, the little quinoa
just pop. It's awesome.

So this is all for my what?
Exactly. My healthy show.

The quinoa's gonna
come together, but
you're looking back here

and you're saying,
"Ooh. What is that?"

Well, we've got some beets
that are actually sharing

their beautiful color
with some pickled red onions,

and that's all gonna come
together for some fish.

But before we do any of that,

let me get my peppers
off the grill.

Now, I've got some poblano
and some Fresnos,

and these are all gonna be

for this fantastic
charred corn salsa.

Look at that. A little touch
of olive oil, salt, and pepper.

Bring them off.
You know the routine, right?

Just a little plastic wrap.

Just fighting it for a second.

This is a great way
to sweat them.

You know, sometimes if you
don't have the plastic wrap,

as long as you can get them

in something that will allow
them to steam,

I've seen people even do it
in a paper bag

or a plastic container
that you can close the lid on.

Okay.
Let those steam up like that.

And I'll grab the corn off.

I'm gonna let the corn cool down

before I go and start to cut
all the kernels off.

And I got a nice hot fire going

for some fantastic fish that
I have marinating right here.

So let me --
I'll put these right here.

Okay, fish is here, done.

A little bit of orange juice,
a little bit of orange zest.

That's the real key to it.

So, first thing we're gonna do

is work with this gigantic
elephant in the room --

Actually, I'll take this one.
And that is this banana leaf.

So the banana leaves I had
were fresh.

Sometimes they'll come frozen,
but the idea is to find

the banana leaf that has
some good portions to it.

A good 4-to-5-inch widths.

You're cutting off the backbone,
or cutting out the strong seam

of the leaf, 'cause the two
leaves would peel apart.

And then taking off the rough
edge that may be freezer-burned,

or if it's dried out
a little bit, pulling that off.

So getting some real nice,
clean, durable portions

of the banana leaf,
4 inches by about 10 inches.

Laying the two down
and crossing them over the top.

Putting the seafood
in the center,

putting that Chilean sea bass
in the center.

A little touch
of the black pepper, salt.

Folding one over the other
so they're overlapping.

This was the original tinfoil.

This is how
it was all getting done

before we had plastic wrap
and tinfoil.

And then pinning them shut

with a real strong toothpick
or bamboo stick,

and they really hold together
great.

Voilà. Not bad, huh?
Three more to go.

Okay. The last one.

And I know you're looking
at this right now going,

"Wait a second.
Is it really that easy?"

It is totally that easy, and
you are gonna love doing this

because depending on, I mean,
you could put shrimp in there.

There's so much great flavor
that could be built in there.

You could put some onions,

and there could be peppers
in it -- You name it.

But these stack up super-easy.

Bring them right over here
to the grill.

I'm gonna raise this grill
up here for a second,

'cause I don't want to go
too fast.

I'm trying to get two things
happening here.

I'm trying to get a little bit
of steam and I'm trying to get

a little bit of a grill.

So I'm gonna watch this and
make sure that it doesn't burn,

that these edges don't get brown
too fast, but look at that.

Right like that.
Fantastic shape. Okay.

Now we'll talk about the quinoa.
Now, I'm a huge quinoa fan.

When my sister Morgan --
She was one that first
taught me about it --

and she just showed all
these different flavors
that you could add to it.

I mean, it's really
a fantastic canvas.

The beauty about it is

is that it'll take on
anything you do with it.

I'm gonna dice these down.
We'll put this all together.

You're gonna get
this super-flavorful fish

steamed in a banana leaf,

a little kiss of that orange
coming through.

You got these pickled onions
gonna go on top.

It's gonna be a fantastic dish,

and we're doing it
all about staying healthy.

I'll see you in a little bit.

"Welcome back to the 'Slicing,
Chopping, and Dicing Hour.'

I'm Guy."

I'm telling you something --

I love the food I make.

I love the style of food,
but it is so --

There is a lot of chopping.

This is food for the people,
meaning that there should be

a lot of people here helping me
with this food.

All right. So, some red bell
pepper, yellow bell pepper,

some mangoes,
some orange bell pepper

all coming together
for this fantastic quinoa.

A little red quinoa in here
that's steaming.

It'll be ready in just a second.

I'm gonna fluff it, lay it out,
let it cool,

and make this awesome salad
with it.

But the star of the show --
Let me show you this.

The star of this healthy show
is my Chilean sea bass,

and not just any sea bass.

First, I marinated it
in a little bit of orange juice

with some achiote powder
and a little bit of cumin.

I did a little bit of the zest
so I get some of that

real nice citrusy flavor
with not too much of the acid.

Then took it, let it marinate
for about an hour,

hit it
with a little salt and pepper,

wrapped it here
in the banana leaves.

Tell me that's not dynamite.

And just use a toothpick
to close it up.

And just letting them sit here
and steam inside of that,

you can see a little bit
of the juice coming out.

It's gonna be fantastic
over a little bit of hardwood.

No problem.
Let me get this started.

I've got...this salad
coming together.

It was a lot of prep.
Totally worth it, though.

Here we go. Back of the knife
to keep from dulling the blade.

And all those great veggies --
I mean, look at the color

that's gonna be inside of this
with that red quinoa.

Okay.

Some of my red onions back there

sitting
in some of that beet juice.

Oh, dynamite color.

Okay.
Shallots and garlic.

Shallot.

Now, this --

Break it down the same way
that you break down an onion.

Okay?

I'll give it a few slices
right through the side.

Do all the dicing in one shot.

Right on top. Just like
we're working an onion.

Making it really nice and fine

so it'll work its way
into the dressing evenly.

Run it over one more time.

Here we go.

And we'll drop that in
for the dressing.

Same thing --
Got to go with some garlic.

Just coming to give it
a little rough chop.

The idea is to really break down
the garlic.

Okay.

Okay. That comes together. Let
me get a little salt in here.

A little black pepper.

We're gonna need
a touch of mustard.

The mustard's nice

because it always helps in
the emulsification side of it.

So we get a little bit of Dijon,
a little white balsamic.

There we go.

Okay.
So that's all mixed up nicely.

Now a touch
of extra virgin olive oil.

Putting in that mustard,

it'll help bring the oil
and the vinegar together.

Okay? We all know that
from making a dressing.

A little taste.

That's spot-on.
Exactly what I wanted.

Crunchy of the vegs,
sweet of the mango,

a little kiss of the mustard,
definitely the garlic in there,

shallots, and that'll all
mellow out here in a second.

Okay.
Let's get into quinoa.

So...
Yeah, that's a good size.

This is red quinoa.

I rinsed it first...

to get
that little bitter taste --

Everybody's had that bitter
taste before from quinoa.

Okay?

Some quinoa will come pre-rinsed
for you. I don't know.

I can go with the old-fashioned
stuff and do my own rinsing.

Okay?

Feather it out.

Kind of like doing with rice,

just kind of letting it finish
its steaming process.

It'll kind of separate a little
bit. It won't be so clumpy.

But look at that.

Mmm. Nice and nutty.

Okay. So we'll set this off
to the side.

Now let's talk
about these peppers.

So I've got some poblanos
and some Fresnos,

threw them on the grill,

a little bit of olive oil,
salt and pepper, let them steam.

You know what that does?
It just kicks off the skin.

This is all gonna come together
with this roasted corn.

So I've got to cut the kernels
off the corn,

got to take and skin
these peppers down,

get the seeds and the stems
and everything out.

That'll all come together
for a salsa.

Here's what we're talking about,
ladies and gentlemen.

We're talking about

a fantastic Chilean sea bass
wrapped in a banana leaf.

Then we're gonna toss it with
some of this roasted-corn salsa,

and then we take some
of those pickled onions on top.

Are you kidding me? All
with a quinoa salad coming
together when you get back.

And if you want to stop
by the house and help with
this, it'd be really nice.

This is my healthy show.

We got some red quinoa,

I've got some tri-colored
bell peppers in here,

a little bit of mint
dropping in,

made a touch of dressing

with some Dijon in there
and a little bit of olive oil,

and now, this beautiful red
quinoa kind of drops right in.

You're gonna love this salad.

So drop that in.

People are flying in for it.
You can hear them.

All right.

Set that aside.

Now give it a quick little mix.

I've got the dressing
already in there.

Look at that.
It's gorgeous.

And the mint
really just gonna open that up,

gonna go with that mango
so nice.

A little crunchiness from some
of the shallot I threw in there

and a touch of garlic.

Let those kind of work their way
into the dressing.

So really flavorful.

And right there --

Look how beautiful that is, huh?

Mmm.

Outstanding. Outstanding.

All right. Now let's talk
about a corn salsa.

So, I've got this fish
that's finishing right now.

Chilean sea bass.
Outrageous.

What we're gonna dump in here --
red onion,

a little bit of garlic
that I already had broken down,

minced it
really nice and fine.

Then I've got
some Fresno chilies here,

as well as poblanos.

And these are just gonna get
a quick little touch.

Here we go.

So give it a touch of salt.

A little agave.

Yep, agave just like
in making tequila.

Okay.

A little zest of some lime.

And this just makes its own
natural vinaigrette right there.

Okay.

Get this.

I just want to make sure

that I got that agave
and that lime working together.

But look at those colors.

Toasted that corn, or roasted
it, right there on the grill.

Okay. Some scallions.

Okay.

All right, we'll drop this in.

Okay.
This is all together.

Now let's take a look --
It's time to grab the fish.

Now, the fish have been wrapped
in banana leaves.

This is my piece.

So I'll show you how beautiful
this is going to be.

We marinated it in a little bit
of orange juice and orange zest.

But is that gorgeous or what?

Let's slide that right off.

Natural --
That's your natural foil.

Oh.

A little
of this ground achiote --

So it's a really nice color
coming out of it.

Put some of this quinoa salad
right on the side.

Tell me that
just doesn't look like confetti,

like a parade in Flavortown.

Now we'll drop a little bit
of the corn salsa

right on top of that.

And then a touch -- and this
is how we started everything off

is with these
pickled red onions.

Now, you've done
pickled red onions,

but have they ever been
that beautiful red?

Take a look at that.

Fresh veggies. Mmm.

That salad is just dynamite.

And the Chilean sea bass --

Remember what I was saying
about the big, flaky pieces?

A little bit of that onion
right on top.

Don't tell anybody it's healthy,
all right?

Just keep going with the,
"Oh, yeah. It tastes delicious.

Must not be good for you."

And the kids will eat it up.

Go healthy. You're gonna love
it. See you next week.

Outstanding.