|
What You Need:
(To Serve: 4)
|
|
|
A 2-pound sea bass, filleted but with the skin left on
½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon sake (rice wine)
A 7-ounce bottle junsai (wild vegetables)
1 quart sumashi
4 very thin slices lime
|
|
Translate this recipe:
|
|
|
|
|
How To Cook: |
|
|
1. Cut the fillets in half crosswise and place them skin side down on a cutting board. With a sharp, heavy knife, cut them crosswise at 1/8 inch intervals almost down to the skin, but do not cut through it. The sliced fish will open up when poached and resemble a peony, or botan in Japanese.
|
2. Sprinkle the fish lightly with ½ teaspoon of salt; then, through a sieve or sifter, sift 2 tablespoons of cornstarch evenly over it.
|
3. In a 1-quart saucepan, bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Poach the fish, one piece at a time, by placing it on a wide spatula, lowering the spatula into the boiling water for 15 seconds, then sliding the fish onto a heatproof platter.
|
4. When all the fish has been poached and arranged side by side, sprinkle the pieces evenly with 1 tablespoon of sake. Now steam the fish for 5 minutes, either in an Oriental steamer or in the improvised steamer.
|
5. Meanwhile, bring 2cups of water to a boil in a small saucepan. Add the junsai and return to a boil. Strain at once and discard the water.
|
6. Cook the sumashi over moderate heat until it reaches a simmer. Divide the junsai evenly among 4 soup bowls, add a piece of the steamed fish to each and garnish with a thin slice of lime.
|
7. Fill each bowl with the hot soup, pouring it down the side of the bowl to avoid disturbing the decorative arrangement. Serve at once.
|
|
|
|
|