Gingery Good

My apologies for the (nearly) one week of silence; I was traveling and then I was feeling lazy about blogging – there were just too many enjoyable distractions happening in “real-life”.

However, I have been doing quite a bit of cooking: some long-time favorites and some brand new recipes that I tried out. So, lots to share with you. And today, I’ll start with a simple yet delicious dish…

In our home, for the most part, we usually cook two types of oily fish – the “snow-fish” (or cod, I think) and the salmon. I personally am more a salmon person – I cook it in all sorts of ways and use it in all sorts of things – but every so often, I do enjoy the snow-fish.

Our two favorite ways of cooking the snow-fish is either to pan-fry it plain and serve it with a ginger and soy sauce dip, or to steam it with Chinese rice wine and lots and lots of ginger.

The latter is a really simple, easy and quick dish to prepare; it is tasty and healthy too. A copious amount of ginger is used, and this provides a wonderfully zesty and aromatic counter-balance to the richness of the fish.

Steamed Snow-Fish with Rice Wine and Ginger

(serves 4)

4 large pieces snow-fish
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 to 2 tsps vegetable oil
5 tbsps light soy sauce
¼ - ½ tsp sugar
4 tbsps Chinese rice wine or glutinous rice wine *
pepper to taste
2-3” knob of fresh ginger
8 pieces spring onion (scallions) – white part only

garnish:
chopped spring onions
3 tbsps Chinese rice wine or glutinous rice wine *

* May be substituted with white wine, if desired.

• Wash and remove skin from the fish. [We prefer to remove the skin, but by all means keep it on if that is preferred.] Pat dry and set aside.

• Peel the ginger and slice thinly. Using a pestle and mortar, pound the ginger slices until it resembles a chunky thick paste. [You should get about 4 rounded tablespoons worth of ginger paste.] Set aside.

• Place the minced garlic in a microwave oven-proof bowl together with just enough oil to cover the garlic, and nuke on high for one minute. [This is a quick and easy way to produce a small amount of fragrant garlic oil.] Remove from the oven and stir to mix.

• Add the rest of the seasonings – the light soy sauce, sugar, rice wine and pepper – to the garlic oil. Mix well. The sauce is ready.

• Arrange the fish on a large serving platter; place each piece of fish on two pieces of the white stems of the spring onion. [This elevates the fish, allowing for even circulation of heat and steam, and cooks the fish perfectly.] Pour the marinade sauce over the fish. Divide the ginger paste evenly among the fish and spread over the top.

• Steam, on a medium-high flame, for about 10 minutes (depending on the thickness and size of the fish pieces). [For snow-fish, the cooking time is less critical than it is for the steaming of other types of fish, as it doesn’t dry up even when over-cooked. In that sense, it is a very easy fish to work with.]

• Once the fish is cooked, sprinkle some chopped green onion over the top, and drizzle the remaining 3 tablespoons of rice wine, around the fish, into the sauce. Replace the wok cover for a few minutes. Serve immediately.

Notes:
• The final touch of rice wine provides an additional nuance of aroma to the sauce, and is usually barely detectable. However, if serving the fish to children too, then this step may be omitted. (The alcohol from the initial addition of wine into the pre-cooked sauce would have been cooked off during the steaming process.)

• I usually steam my fish in the wok. I personally find this to be the easiest and quickest way. Put a little water into the wok; stand a metal rack on the bottom of the wok, making sure the top of the rack is above the water level. Bring the water to a boil; then place the plate of fish onto the metal rack. Cover the wok and leave to steam.

• Unlike most other types of fish which are only suitable for steaming when fresh, the snow-fish can be steamed without any problems even after it has been frozen then thawed. The flesh remains incredibly tender, moist, juicy and succulent. A great fish to have on stand-by in the freezer for when you feel like having steamed fish for dinner but can’t quite make it to the fishmonger’s for some fresh catch.

Snow-fish, by virtue of its full and luscious mouth-feel, can sometimes feel a little heavy on the palate. However, with this dish, the wonderfully light rice wine-infused sauce and the tangy ginger paste cut through the richness, and provide a delightfully refreshing and zesty feel to the fish.

Copyright © 2004 Renee Kho. All Rights Reserved.
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