ginger cilantro'd fish with coconut sauce
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The jumping off point for this dish was a Sam Choy recipe (Ginger Pesto Crusted Opakapaka with Coconut Cream Sauce) and my mom's Sick and Wrong Fish.
The original proportions on the opakapaka sounded little heavy on ginger for me, a little bit salty, and Very, Very Large. But make no mistake, I adore Sam Choy recipes. They so creative in the way 'ordinary' ingredients are eclectically thrown together to create something extraordinary. I'll try this again with a few more minor modifications, but this one will definitely be added to the gills section. |
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1 piece of white fish (I used cod)
1 large handful of cilantro, finely chopped 3-4 stalks of green onion, finely chopped About 3T of ginger, very finely chopped 1-2T shoyu About 3T oil (canola or macadamia) |
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/4 cup heavy cream 1 large shallot, thinly sliced Brown sugar, to taste A very tiny bit of Hawaiian salt |
Fish prep
Mix the chopped cilantro, ginger and green onions very finely. The original recipe calls for equal amounts, but I went much lighter on the ginger. Heat oil in a pan. Add shoyu and cilantro, ginger and green onions. Cook it really fast (oil should be very hot, but not smoking). It will turn an intense green color, but don't let it burn, maybe 3-5 minutes total. Take it off and let it cool. Marinate the fish in this for a few minutes.
Coconut sauce (about 10 minutes)
I used 1/2 cup of coconut milk and half a cup of heavy cream, scaling down considerably. Slice a shallot very thinly and cook it in a bit of butter until it gets soft. Add the coconut milk and let this simmer for a bit and then bring to a slow boil. Add in the heavy cream and a very small bit of Hawaiian salt. I also added a little bit of brown sugar. Let this keep warm, but not boiling on the stove while you cook the fish.
Cook fish on a non-stick pan, flipping once. This took maybe 8 minutes total because the cod fillets were thick. It will be considerably shorter, maybe even 4 minutes, if your fish pieces are very thin (like sole or opakapaka, as the original recipe uses).
Pour sauce over fish and eat.
Mix the chopped cilantro, ginger and green onions very finely. The original recipe calls for equal amounts, but I went much lighter on the ginger. Heat oil in a pan. Add shoyu and cilantro, ginger and green onions. Cook it really fast (oil should be very hot, but not smoking). It will turn an intense green color, but don't let it burn, maybe 3-5 minutes total. Take it off and let it cool. Marinate the fish in this for a few minutes.
Coconut sauce (about 10 minutes)
I used 1/2 cup of coconut milk and half a cup of heavy cream, scaling down considerably. Slice a shallot very thinly and cook it in a bit of butter until it gets soft. Add the coconut milk and let this simmer for a bit and then bring to a slow boil. Add in the heavy cream and a very small bit of Hawaiian salt. I also added a little bit of brown sugar. Let this keep warm, but not boiling on the stove while you cook the fish.
Cook fish on a non-stick pan, flipping once. This took maybe 8 minutes total because the cod fillets were thick. It will be considerably shorter, maybe even 4 minutes, if your fish pieces are very thin (like sole or opakapaka, as the original recipe uses).
Pour sauce over fish and eat.
NOTES:
On the whole, pretty easy, fairly quick and tasty. A few notes for minor improvements.
Ingredients
1) Used equal amounts of cilantro and green onions (about a handful of each), but instead of an equal amount of ginger, used half. This works for us.
2) Used on shallot instead of an onion. I don't think this matters. However, it is important aesthetically that the onion doesn't brown.
3) Added too much salt into the coconut sauce. It might not even need any
4) Added a little brown sugar (maybe 1T to the coconut sauce)
5) Did not use cornstarch to thicken the coconut sauce. It did fine on its own.
6) Use chicken and grill it--a great idea from a FMO Facebook friend!
Prep
1) I don't think that pre-cooking the ginger/cilantro/green onion makes a huge difference so next time, I'm just going to marinate the fish in it.
2) Instead of pan frying, I might try baking or grilling.
3) I might play around with adding some fresh mushrooms and red peppers to this, either in the sauce or quick sauted and added at the end.
Ingredients
1) Used equal amounts of cilantro and green onions (about a handful of each), but instead of an equal amount of ginger, used half. This works for us.
2) Used on shallot instead of an onion. I don't think this matters. However, it is important aesthetically that the onion doesn't brown.
3) Added too much salt into the coconut sauce. It might not even need any
4) Added a little brown sugar (maybe 1T to the coconut sauce)
5) Did not use cornstarch to thicken the coconut sauce. It did fine on its own.
6) Use chicken and grill it--a great idea from a FMO Facebook friend!
Prep
1) I don't think that pre-cooking the ginger/cilantro/green onion makes a huge difference so next time, I'm just going to marinate the fish in it.
2) Instead of pan frying, I might try baking or grilling.
3) I might play around with adding some fresh mushrooms and red peppers to this, either in the sauce or quick sauted and added at the end.