Steamed Fish with Black Bean Sauce

Tomorrow is the first Friday of Lent. That means we have to abstain from any meats for every Friday until Easter. So I wanted to search for another good seafood recipe because, frankly, I'm running out of ideas for non-meat meals. I came across this recipe once again from Steamy Kitchen. I've always loved Black Bean sauce when I order it at Chinese restaurants, so I wanted to give this a try.

This dish was so easy to make. And you can use practically any type of fish for this recipe. I love buttery white fishes such as halibut, cod, and especially sea bass. For this particular meal, I happened to have cod fillets and so its what I used. The recipe called for sake, which I didn't have, so I used white wine and it came out fine. Deeelicous, actually. I'm so excited to have found a great recipe for fish rather than just grilling or baking it.

4 thick fish fillets

salt & pepper

4 Tbsp. Chinese Black Bean sauce, mixed with a splash of sake or white wine

8 Tbsp. sake (or any white wine)

1 1/2 inch piece fresh ginger, peeled

2 green onions (or one bunch of fresh chives), chopped

6 Tbsp. olive oil

2 tsp. sesame oil

1) Season both sides of fish with salt and pepper. Spread 1 tablespoon of Black Bean paste on the top of each fish fillet. Place in a heatproof dish. Add sake or wine on the bottom of the dish and steam for 10-15 minutes over high heat in a steamer.

2) While the fish is steaming, use a vegetable peeler to slice ginger into thin slices, then use a knife to jullienne into thin slivers.

3) When fish is finished, pour the cooking liquid into a deep dish for serving. Place ginger and green onions over the fish.

4) In a small frying pan, heat olive oil and sesame oil just until it begins to smoke. Pour over fish (ginger and chive will sizzle). Transfer fish into the serving dish with the liquid. Serve with steamed rice.