 Steamed Halibut Flashed With Thai Bird-Kaffir
Lime Oil Turmeric Fried Rice and Long Bean Salad
Copyright, 1999, Ming Tsai, All Rights Reserved
Ingredients:
1 lime, juiced
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons sugar
4 cups water
4 (6-ounce) thick fillets of halibut, square shaped
Red leaf or banana leaf for steaming
4 each scallions, 1/16-inch ribbons
1/2 cup peanut oil (Lion and Globe or an artisan roasted peanut oil)
6 fresh kaffir lime leaves, 1/16-inch ribbons
3 Thai bird chiles, 1/16-inch slices
1 tablespoon ginger, 1/16-inch ribbons
1 tablespoon garlic, 1/16-inch slices
Salt and black pepper to taste
Set up a steamer that can hold the 4 fillets. Mix lime juice, salt, sugar and
water. Add the fish and brine for 20 minutes. Add the fillets to the steamer
(should be lined with red leaf or banana leaf), top with the scallions and steam
for 8 to10 minutes until cooked though. Meanwhile, in a small sauce pan, heat
the peanut oil very hot until almost smoking. Mix the kaffir, chile, ginger,
garlic and salt and pepper. First plate the halibut and right before serving,
add the mix to the hot oil, mix and immediately flash the halibut. Serve.
TUMERIC FRIED RICE:
Canola oil to cook
2 eggs, beaten
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon minced ginger
4 chopped scallions, 1/8-inch slice
4 cups cooked, day old jasmin rice (add 1 teaspoon of tumeric to raw rice to
cook in the flavor and color)
2 tablespoons thin soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
Salt to taste
It is recommended to use day old rice so that the drier rice can soak up the
flavors. In a wok, add 2 tablespoons of oil and quickly soft scramble the eggs.
Remove the eggs. In the same wok, coat with oil and stir-fry garlic and ginger.
Add scallions and rice and heat thoroughly. Add soy
sauce, white pepper and
scrambled eggs. Check for seasoning.
LONG BEAN SALAD:
4 cups chinese long beans, cut into 2 inch pieces (can substitute blanched
haricots verts)
1/2 tablespoon sambal oelek
1 tablespoon fish sauce
Juice of 2 limes
Salt and black pepper to taste
Blanch the long beans in a 350 degree fryer for only 1 minute until wrinkled.
Mix in a bowl the sambal, fish sauce and lime juice. Add the hot long beans.
Check for seasoning and adjust. Let sit at room temperature.
PLATING Using a 2 1/2-inch O-ring or cut out tuna fish can, fill the bottom
half with the fried rice. Top with the long beans and press down firmly. Top
with the halibut and flash with the oil.
Wine Suggestion: Franck & Jean Francois Bailly Sancerre, 1997
Yield: 4 servings
Prep Time: 1 hour
Cook Time: 10 minutes
| 
