It's Friday night, but we didn't eat a random assortment of leftovers! A rare feat of good planning indeed.
Okay, it's not that impressive, but this dish is. I promise, you'll like it. It's sort of like clay pot catfish, but not quite so sticky, sweet, or time consuming.- 1 catfish, cleaned and cut into steaks (leave the head out, I'm still not sure what to do with a catfish head)
- 3 scallions, sliced thinly
- 1 small knob ginger, cut into tiny slivers. The total amount of ginger is probably four heaping tablespoons
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon rice wine
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1 cup water
Heat a few tablespoons of oil over high heat in a wok or a small pot. Sear the catfish steaks on all sides, about 4 minutes a side or until the steak releases easily from the pot. Add about half the ginger and scallions to the pot, using the oil to stir fry them until fragrant. Pour in the soy sauce, rice wine, sugar, and water (you can combine these ahead of time if you wish), bring back to a boil, then turn the flame down to a simmer and cover the pot for 10 minutes. You can add more water if you need to, or remove the lid if it looks like there's too much water. Test the fish to make sure it's cooked through. Grab a plate, put the fish on it, top with the rest of the ginger and scallions, and the pour the sauce over everything to slightly wilt the scallions. The sauce will be a little gooey and thick from the catfish fat and cartilage, and is great over rice.
Once the catfish is done, return the wok to the stove over high heat and use it to stir from some bok choy. Chinese moms always say a good cook doesn't need to wash a wok during the cooking of a meal. I just like a little fish flavor in my vegetables!
2 comments:
hi, i love your blog. i have a chinese food question.
i was at din tai fung today and was wondering how to cook veggies (i.e. broccoli and string beans) the way that chinese restaurants do. do they use a certain type of oil? thanks.
The secrets are a LOT of oil and a very hot wok. It's almost impossible to recreate the flavor and texture 100% in a home wok.
The problem is with home equipment, as soon as the cold vegetables hit the wok the temperature cools down and you don't get the constant searing heat that makes them taste good.
You can approximate by putting a wok over high heat until there's smoke coming off it, then pouring in way more oil than you think is necessary (several tablespoons), swirling the oil until it glistens, and then throwing in some room temperature vegetables. If you're using ginger or garlic, throw that in with the oil and let it simmer for a few seconds to infuse the oil with flavor. When you put the vegetables in, it should be VERY loud and very steamy. Toss quickly while keeping the wok over the flame.
Keep the window open when you do this!
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