Monkfish With Fried Zucchini and Cucumber-Yogurt Sauce

CHEFS DAVID MYERS and Kuniko Yagi are frequent flyers. If what they eat abroad strikes their fancy, it's likely to find its way, in some form, onto the menu at Mr. Myers's newest Los Angeles restaurant, Hinoki & the Bird, where Ms. Yagi is executive chef.

The Chefs: David Myers and Kuniko Yagi

Sam Polcer (Myers); Dylan + Jeni (Yagi)

His restaurants: In and around L.A.: Comme Ça, Pizzeria Ortica, Hinoki & the Bird. In Las Vegas: Comme Ça at the Cosmopolitan. In Tokyo: 3 Solas and David Myers Café.

What they are known for: Applying Asian techniques to local produce, with California cool.

Take their second Slow Food Fast contribution: seared monkfish with a cucumber-yogurt sauce and fried zucchini chips, seasoned with coriander, cumin and chili. Though appealingly simple, the dish references three separate trips: one the chefs took to Bogotá, Colombia, and two that Ms. Yagi took to Vietnam and Thailand.

The monkfish component can be traced to Vietnam. "I was at a restaurant in Ho Chi Minh City," said Ms. Yagi, "and they served me fish marinated in yogurt. I was like, Wow, this is really good. The sourness of the yogurt works well with the seafood." The zucchini chips were inspired by a potato dish: "In Colombia we had really great potatoes that were just fried in oil and salted. Then, when I went to Thailand, they sprinkled a cumin, chili and coriander spice mix on all kinds of things."

Back home in L.A., Ms. Yagi drew on those disparate meals to come up with this one, substituting zucchini for potato and otherwise improvising until the elements felt coherent. "If you don't know the back story," said Mr. Myers, "it still works. At Hinoki, you find ingredients that are in season and simple, but with a twist. It's that little trick that brings flavor to another level."

—Kitty Greenwald

Monkfish With Fried Zucchini and Cucumber-Yogurt Sauce

Total Time: 30 minutes Serves: 4

Ingredients

2 cups grapeseed oil

½ teaspoon coriander seeds, lightly crushed

½ teaspoon cumin seeds, lightly crushed

½ teaspoon chili flakes

Salt

¾ pound zucchini, sliced into 1/8-inch-thick rounds

1½ cups Greek yogurt

½ English cucumber, halved lengthwise, seeded and sliced into ¼-inch pieces

Juice from ½ lemon

1½ tablespoons olive oil

Four 6-ounce monkfish fillets

Freshly ground black pepper

More From David Myers and Kuniko Yagi

• Yellow Curry With Eggplant, Pepper and Sweet Potato

Plus, Recipes From:

• A Voce's Missy Robbins
• Mission Chinese Chef Danny Bowien

What to Do

1. In a medium, deep pot over medium-high heat, bring grapeseed oil to 350 degrees, using a thermometer to monitor temperature. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine coriander, cumin, chili flakes and a pinch of salt. Once oil reaches 350 degrees, carefully add zucchini in batches, so as not to overcrowd pot, and fry until golden, 5-7 minutes. Transfer fried zucchini chips to a paper-towel-lined plate and season with spice mix.

2. In another bowl, combine yogurt with cucumber, lemon juice and salt to taste. Set aside.

3. Heat olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Season fish with salt and pepper. Once oil is hot, lay fillets into pan. Reduce heat to medium and sauté until fish browns and flakes, about 8 minutes per side.

4. To serve, add a generous dollop of yogurt sauce to each plate and top with one fish fillet. Scatter zucchini chips over fish.

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A version of this article appeared September 28, 2013, on page D7 in the U.S. edition of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: Monkfish with Fried Zucchini and Cucumber-Yogurt Sauce.