Poaching Mahi-Mahi is a delicious and easy way to serve this fish and often the technique used at your favorite restaurant to cook Mahi.
It’s often been said that Mahi-Mahi is a powerhouse of healthy protein and no it’s not a dolphin. Although it can be referred to as “dorado or dolphinfish” it’s not a mammal, and dolphin by name only. There’s no need to worry about flipper ending up on your dinner table!
What you will get with Mahi-Mahi is a very lean fish that is chock full of essential amino acids and enzymes. Including Omega-3 fatty acids. And Mahi-Mahi (the fish so nice they named twice) can be cooked a numbers of ways allowing you to have fun creating delicious restaurant-style dishes in your own kitchen.
What Ingredients do I need to Make Poached Mahi-Mahi?
Let’s start by gathering the ingredients we need to make my restaurant style Poached Mahi-Mahi. In Chef Speak this is called the “Mise en Place” which translates to “Everything in its Place”.
Not only does setting your ingredients up ahead of time speed the up cooking process, but it also helps ensure you have everything you need to make the dish.
What other Fish Can I poach?
These are some of my other favorite fish to cook with the poaching method.
- Tuna
- Swordfish
- Halibut
- Barramundi
- Arctic char
- Dover sole
- Salmon
How do I poach Mahi-Mahi?
Poaching fish is easier than you think and a wonderful way to not only cook fish quickly but also helping to keep it moist and flavorful while keeping down the calories.
And the best part is you can cook dinner in one pan! Traditionally a Court-Bouillon is used to poach fish, but don’t get worried it sounds fancier than it really is.
The first step is to rinse and pat dry the mahi-mahi with paper towels. The salt and pepper the fish.
Add a little olive oil to a large heated skillet over medium-high heat. Then add the Mahi-Mahi fillets, garlic and veggies to the pan.
After 1 minute in the hot skillet, gently turn the fillets over and continue cooking for another minute.
How do I make a Court Bouillon?
Remove the Mahi from the skillet and set aside until needed.
Add the white wine, stock and lemon juice to the skillet. Bring the mixture to a boil and allow the stock to reduce by half.
When the court bouillon has reduced by half, strain the mixture removing all of the vegetables.
*Discard the vegetables or season and continue cooking them in a little olive oil to serve with the fish.
If you want a richer broth, you can, of course, let it simmer for a few hours (which would require adding more water to the pan as it cooks away) my dish came out pretty well for using this shortcut method. You can also add some of your favorite fresh herbs to this broth, enhancing the flavors to create your own signature dish.
To make a court-bouillon you need just a few items; celery, carrots, onions, and an acidic ingredient along with other liquids. You can use citrus (lime or lemon), wine, or vinegar. Or a combination of any of the ingredients, I used lemon and white wine. I also added a few garlic cloves, and used vegetable stock instead of just plain water, kicking up the flavor profile even more.
As the court-bouillon reduces, you can enhance the flavors by adding cream, butter or other fresh herbs….. It’s your kitchen, have fun experimenting!
It’s really that easy, and when you think of it the court-bouillon is basically just a mirepoix (cut up celery, onions and carrots, used in many dishes as well as soups). See now you’ve learned more French terms to make bantering around the kitchen even more fun….you’re almost ready for the tall white hat.
Reduce the heat to medium and return the Mahi to the pan along with shrimp, spinach and tomatoes. Sprinkle half the lemon zest on top of the Mahi.
Allow Mahi and other ingredients to continue cooking for 3-4 minutes.
If you’d like to test the fish to see if it’s done insert a very sharp knife into the thickest part of the Mahi to see if it’s done to your liking.
*This fish can be served a little undone. This will keep it from being dry.
Remove the Mahi and shrimp from the pan and plate over prepared rice or your favorite grain.
Dredge a piece of butter into flour and add it to the pan and mix well until blended in. This is called a Beurre Manie and will help thicken the sauce.
Spoon the spinach mixture over the Mahi and rice and enjoy!
**You can peel the shrimp if you like before serving or simply have your guests peel them with the dinner.
More Seafood Recipes You’ll Love!
- Blackened Mahi-Mahi with a Pineapple Lobster Sauce
- Grilled Mahi-Mahi with Caponata
- Pan Seared Halibut
- Red Snapper with a Lobster Cream Sauce
How to Poach Mahi-Mahi
Ingredients
- 1 stalk celery rough cut
- 1 medium carrot rough cut
- ½ medium onion rough cut
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 12 ounce mahi-mahi 2 fillets
- 4 jumbo shrimp shell on
- sea salt and black pepper
- 1 ½ cup vegetable stock
- ½ cup white wine
- ½ lemon juice only
- 1 lemon zest only
- 2 cups baby spinach
- 1 cup grape tomatoe s cut half long way
- 1 tablespoon butter
Instructions
- Rinse then pat dry the Mahi fillets with paper towels
- Season the filets with sea salt and black pepper
- In a large heated skillet add the olive oil (medium high heat)
- Add the Mahi-Mahi fillets, garlic and veggies
- After 1 minute in the hot skillet, gently turn the fillets over and continue cooking for another minute
- Remove the Mahi from the skillet and set aside
- Add the white wine, stock and lemon juice to the skillet. Bring to a boil and allow the stock to reduce by half.
- When the court bouillon has reduced by half, strain the mixture removing all of the vegetables. *Discard the vegetables or season and continue cooking to serve with the fish.
- Reduce the heat to medium and return the Mahi to the pan along with shrimp, spinach and tomatoes. Sprinkle half the lemon zest on top of the Mahi.
- Allow Mahi and other ingredients to continue cooking for 3-4 minutes. If you'd like to test teh fish to see if its done insert a very sharp knife into the thickest part to see if its done cooking.
- Remove the Mahi and shrimp from the pan and serve over prepared rice or your favorite grain.
- Dredge a piece of butter into flour and add it to the pan and mix well until blended in. This is called a Beurre Manie and will help thicken the sauce
- Spoon the spinach mixture over the Mahi and rice and enjoy!
- **You can peel the shrimp if you like before serving or simply have your guests peel them with the dinner.
Nutrition
Chandice Probst
This was so informative and helpful in my experience of poaching mahi mahi! Thank you for a delicious and helpful recipe.
Eva
I love this recipe and I can’t wait to put my skills to the test making this easy and quick Court Bouillon! I can’t find mahi-mahi here in Sweden but we get some fine cod from neighbouring Norway so I’m going to try your recipe with my local fish.
Alex
I didn’t realize Mahi-Mahi was so healthy! It’s time I look further than salmon. We’re getting tired of it so this looks like a great change!
Erin
You always have such interesting recipes! Especially seafood. And I had never even heard of court bouillon. I’m so happy I read this. This looks like another fantastic recipe to try soon!
Jacqueline Debono
We don’t have mahi mahi here in Northern Italy. In Italian, it’s called capone or lampuga and it’s only available in the south during the autumn as it’s a migatory fish. But, I’d love to try your recipe with some swordfish or sole. It looks delicious!
Shelley
Hahaha – “the fish so nice they named it twice”! So true! We spend a lot of time in Florida, and mahi is on the menu in so many forms. Delicious and so healthy – just how I like it! I love your “shortcut” method here – it definitely adds the third element to how I prefer to cook at home – besides being delicious and healthy, it’s also so quick and easy!
Tristin @ Home Cooked Harvest
My whole family loves fish dishes and my husband especially loves Mahi. Can’t wait to make this recipe for him.
Amy Liu Dong
Such an easy, healthy and delicious dish to make today for my family. I am sure they will love it. Thanks, Chef!
Jenny
I really appreciate this recipe, it is a great guide on how to poach fish. Usually, I am hopeless but was able to pull it off thanks to you. Thanks so much, Chef!
rika
My family loves eating fish, especially mahi-mahi! This looks incredibly delicious and healthy!
Catalina
This really looks like a restaurant style mahi mahi. It’s great to make it at home!
Swathi
I haven’t tried poaching mahi mahi, I will try it next time when I buy it. Thanks for sharing these tips.
Kita Bryant
This is one of my favorite ways to cook fish. Your recipe looks so delicious!
Kathy
I’ve never had this before. It sure does look delicious though. I’ll have to try it sometime. Yum!
Monica Y
We love mahi-mahi and I cannot wait to try this recipe, looks delicious and simple to follow
Lynndee
I love mahi-mahi. I actually have some in the fridge right now. Can’t wait to try your recipe.
Natalie
It was delicious. I will definitely make this recipe again. My family loved it.
Crystal Carder
This would intimidate me to do, but you made it sound like I could do it! I’ve never tried poached fish, but it looks good.
Nikki Wayne
Here in our area, we have a fish called Maya-maya, not sure if it’s the same species.
Marysa
What an interesting way to cook fish. I wasn’t familiar with this method and would love to give it a try.
Lori Bosworth
I usually just bake my fish in parchment paper, but I’m going to have to try poaching as it looks so easy!
Tasheena
I’ve actually never had this before. Looking forward to making this for my family.
MELANIE EDJOURIAN
I’ve not had the chance to try mahi-mahi yet. This sounds delicious especially as it’s with shrimp.
Heather
I haven’t had Mahi in so long. I definitely have to try this recipe.
Tara Pittman
Mahi Mahi is a fish that I like. I will be trying this method of cooking it.
Linda
Our family loves mahi-mahi but never tried cooking this at home. I’m adding this to my must-make recipe!
Amber Myers
This sounds delicious. I have never tried to poach fish before. I’ll keep this in mind for sure!
Julia
Yum, I love mahi-mahi, and love having another method to cook it!
Courtney
Fresh, healthy and flavorful. We all love the magi magi served this way.
Zena's Suitcase
This sounds like such a great way to poach fish and add lots of flavour. I will be trying this out at the weekend
Amy
Love this healthy dish! I’m trying to eat more fish too.
Andréa Janssen
Poaching is such a great technique and I love this recipe for Mahi-Mahi with shrimp!
Sue
I love all seafood but have never been sure how to poach it. I will be giving this a try for sure!
Luke Ratford
This recipe was just like what you get from a restaurant, full of great flavours, delicious 🙂
Alexandra
How delicious this is! Thank you for all of your tips with poaching the fish.
FOODHEAL
This mahi-mahi is super healthy, I love your cooking method, it retains the nutrients. And that spoon, you have chosen the best prop with this fish.
Mama Maggie's Kitchen
This looks so so good. My husband will love this dish.
Marina
Poached Mahi Mahi sounds delicious! Love this fish, thanks for sharing
Sara
Oh yum! All those flavors work so well together without sacrificing the waistline. 💗
Erika
This looks so delicious! Can’t wait to give this dish a go. Yummy
Alexandra
Poached fish is such a wonderful way to serve it. I enjoyed this recipe very much – thank you!
Sue
Delicious! Can never go wrong with a good seafood dish!
Heidi Green
This is a delicious recipe, I can’t thank you enough!
I would ask you about the lemon juice and lemon zest. They are in your ingredients list, but not mentioned in the instructions. Now, coming back to the post after printing and making the recipe last night, I see you sprinkled lemon zest on the dish. What did you do with the lemon juice?
It would be helpful if you would add instructions on what to do with those, as the printout didn’t have the picture of how you used the zest, and I’m still curious about the juice. In my estimation, neither was needed (maybe because I used a Reisling), but you likely have some delicious use for them.
Thanks again!
Chef Dennis Littley
hi Heidi
the lemon juice should have gone in during the reduction and part of the zest at the final preparation when adding the spinach and tomato. Sorry about missing that in the instructions. I have added both in. It’s one of my older recipes when I was not quite as thorough. thanks for te heads up.
Heidi Green
Thanks, that’s helpful.
Maybe #12 could have at the end “, sprinkle the lemon zest over everything.”
Also, and this is just nit-picking that I didn’t even notice before, #9’s second sentence says “If you’d like to test teh fish…” – the word “the” is misspelled there. I make typos ALL the time.
Anyway, I can’t wait to try this again, this time with the zest and the juice. Hard to improve perfection, but I’m excited to check it out!
SJ
My first time poaching fish… My husband gave it a 9.5 out of 10 Thank you!!
Chef Dennis Littley
I’m happy to hear you enjoyed my recipe! I hope you find more to try
Sophia
Informative & valuable article. Really great thinking. Love all the things shared here. Keep it up.
Johanne
Had a piece of salmon and a piece of mahi-mahi left in my freezer. Recipe appealed to me for freshness, simplicity, and use of various veggies. Shrimps were a great addition. I did not let the broth consume too much to have more juice to serve with rice. So delicious! A keeper!.
Nikki Wayne
Here in our area, we have a fish called Maya-maya, not sure if it’s the same species.
Thomas
Hi Chef, thanks for the awesome recipe! We have included it in our roundup of the top 50 Mahi-Mahi recipes in the world!
Terri
I made this and it was great! Thank you! I wasn’t sure when to add the lemon juice… I didn’t see it mentioned in the actual recipe. But I threw it in there at some point and it turned out fine. Just thought you might want to add it in for us novices. So I know if it matters when or not. Thanks again. 🙂
Chef Dennis Littley
I’m happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe and thank you for the heads up, I added the lemon juice in with the stock and wine addition!
Kushigalu
I made this. First time poaching fish and my whole family just loved it. Thanks for all the tips shared.
Kim Bultman | a little lunch
Dennis, I had to put off my birthday dinner by a day (the joys of moving, lol!) and had planned to do an Asian marinated salmon, but the sublime simplicity of your poached fish is making me lean towards that. Sometimes simpler is better… and more flavorful! Thank you.
Diana @DandelionGreensBlog
I was just wondering about poaching salmon. So glad I found your post today!
Chef Dennis Littley
This would work wonderfully with salmon Diana
minnie@thelady8home
Beautiful looking Mahi Mahi Chef. Interestingly, this is exactly how we cook ‘jhol’ is Bengal, India. Fish being our staple diet, poaching them is the way to go, though the flavors and spices used are very different. This looks delicious.