This dish yells ‘home-cooked’ food to the max. It’s simple to prepare, requiring only a few ingredients and basic condiments and very minimal cooking time and efforts.
It is such dishes that I frequently fall back on to cook the regular meals for my small family of three. Steaming fish is one of our all-time favourite methods because of its freshness. The gravy that comes from steaming the fish (not the fish itself) is what I always head straight for, to scoop into my small bowl of rice (if any) or to drink as a soup by itself. Occasionally, I would also add in some tofu, mushrooms or tomatoes to steam with the fish which allows it to become a more complete meal by itself, such as what I usually do to steam pomfrets.
Take just 5 min to try out this recipe. I’m sure you’ll love it as much as I do!
Ingredients:
- Cod fillet: 1 big slice (about 300g)
- Salt: a pinch
- Kikkoman light soy sauce: 1 tbsp
- Mirin: 2 tbsp
- Sesame oil: 1 tsp
- Wolfberries: 1 tbsp
- Coriander (optional): 1 stalk, chopped (to garnish)
- Fried onion oil (optional): 1 tbsp (to garnish)
Method:
- Rub a pinch of salt on both sides of the cod.
- Place cod fillet on a shallow plate.
- In a separate bowl, combine light soy sauce with mirin.
- Pour half of sauce over one side of cod. Spread well. Turn cod over to the other side and pour remaining sauce over cod.
- Drizzle sesame oil over cod. Sprinkle wolfberries on top.
- Steam on high heat for 6 – 8min.
- Garnish with coriander or fried onion oil to serve.
Trick:
- Do not over-cook the fish by steaming it for longer than necessary, otherwise the cod fillet will become tough to chew on.
Disclaimer:
- The hub advises that I should put a disclaimer to say that the term ‘cod’ is how the locals come to know of this species of fish in the market, even though it is not really ‘cod’ per se, but ‘patagonian toothfish’. There is also another fake name for this toothfish – ‘chilean sea bass’. I must confess that I am not an expert in this area, but for all I know, it is one of the best fish in town for steaming, very expensive but worth the while!
Serving:
2 persons as side dish
