Halibut with Tofu in Crispy Bean Sauce

When we were in Vancouver, B.C., Canada last year, we tried out a spicy fish dish at 老四川 (Old Szechwan Restaurant) and fell in love with it. The texture of the fish was as soft as the soft tofu.

Tonight, I attempted this dish with a vacuum packed frozen cod fish. I used Trader Joe's roasted soy nuts to give this mouth-watering dish, the extra crunch.

(reference: Chinese Cuisine Szechwan Style by Lee Hwa Lin)
Ingredients:

1 piece of Halibut or Cod fish marinate (30 minutes) with:

• 6 sections Green Onion
• 4 slices ginger
• 1 Tbsp cooking wine
• 1/4 tsp each salt, pepper

enough cornstarch to coat the fish if you are pan frying.
110g (4 oz) minced pork (or 1 piece of soft tofu cut to chunks)
90g beige fermented beans (or 2 Tbsps of roasted soynuts from Trader Joes)
1/2 Tsp sugar
1 Tbsp hot soy bean paste
1 Tbsp sesame oil
1/2 Tbsp minced green onion
(1/4 cup of stock)

Method:

Steam the marinated fish for 12 minutes, remove and drain. (Instead of steaming the fish, I apply a thin coat of cornstarch and pan fry until golden on both sides, in a non-stick pan)

Heat the wok, add 4 Tbsp oil (I used only 1 Tbsp).

Stir fry pork until done, add in beans and sugar. Fry until beans are crispy. (I skipped this step because I did not use pork and beige fermented beans.)


Then mix in hot bean paste and stock. When the mixture is boiling, add tofu and cook for 2 minutes.


Add in green onion and sesame oil. (Sprinkle with roasted soy nuts.) Mix thoroughly and spread over the fish and serve.

Sea Cucumber, Ｍushroom and Ｗood Ｅar in high stock

My latest craving is sea cucumber. I usually buy my meat fresh because I don't like the defrost from freezer taste. However, sea cucumber is one of the few meats that still taste good after defrosting. Just make sure you wash these suckers thoroughly before you cook them and you will have a great dish to serve. I named this dish "...in high stock" because the stock that I used is very rich (pork bones cooked overnight).

Ingredients :

2 lbs Sea cucumber, soaked

3 whole shitake mushroom, soaked

3 whole wood ears, soaked
5 Green onion
5 slices Ginger
4 tbsp Soy sauce
2 tbsp Wine
1/2 tsp Sugar

1 tsp salt
1 tbsp Cornstarch, mix with 1 tbsp cold water
1 1/2 cup soup stock
1/2 tbsp Sesame oil

Method :

1) Clean the soaked sea cucumber.

2) Cook with 1 green onion, 3 slices ginger, 1 tablespoon wine and 5 cups of cold water about 20 minutes over low heat.

3) Discard the water, ginger and onion.

4) Heat 1 tbsp oil in frying pan, fry 3 green onion, 2 slices ginger and then add sea cucumber, mushroom and wood ear.

5) Add wine, soy sauce, salt, sugar and soup stock, cook for about 3 minutes.

6) Thicken with cornstarch paste.

７）Add sesame oil.

8)　Pour in platter. Serve.

Note: If you purchase the dried sea cucumber, make sure you soak it well and wash and resoak. This website shows you the steps prepare sea cucumber for cooking: http://eatfirstthinklater.blogspot.com/2007/02/sea-cucumbers.html

Steam Fish

This is perhaps one of the easier dishes to make when you want to impress your family. There are a few tricks to making a good steam fish.

1) fresh fish (it is a must! I keep a cooler in my car in summer days to ensure freshness before I get home).
2) ask the fishmonger to clean the fish for you (once the scales are removed, cook within that day). Rinse it well when you are ready to cook.
3) pat it dry. Marinate with 1 tbsp wine and 1 tsp salt and a dash of black pepper.
4) prepare steamer, boil water. Put the fish in a heat proof platter that will fit inside your steamer. Steam the fish over high heat for 10 minutes. Do not overcook.
5) in a separate pan, heat some oil, fry chopped 1 tbsp ginger, 1 tbsp garlic and 1 tbsp green onion and 2 tbsp black bean paste, in that order.
6) When the fish is done, pour (5) over the fish. Optionally, you can decorate with fresh chilis and cilantro.