Ingredients
Ingredients
This miso-based marinade produces spectacular results with fatty or oily fish such as salmon, sea bass, yellow tail, black cod, blue fish, and pompano. It cures the flesh slightly and permeates it with a delicate flavor. Grilling caramelizes and glazes the surface, leaving the flesh succulent. Plan to marinate the fish at least 12 hours before cooking. If you don't have sake, use a total of 1/2 cup mirin.
Salt-roast a fish and keep all the pristine flavor and juiciness. The surface is a tad salty, but nearly all the meat is perfect. Testimonials for this technique go back to ancient Rome.
When I was in Trinidad, Winnie Lee Lum showed me how to make this superb dish, which beautifully demonstrates the convergence of Chinese and Trinidadian cooking traditions. Of course, the taste was extraordinary because Lee Lum only cooks with fresh local shrimp that her husband, Tony, purchases for her. Before cooking, she rinses the shrimp in lime juice, a Trinidadian cooking practice said to remove the "fishy" taste. She prefers the Chinese custom of cooking the shrimp in the shell to protect the shrimp's succulence and flavor. Rather than rice wine, Lee Lum insists on using dark Jamaican-style rum; according to her, white rum is too harsh for cooking. This is one of the easiest dishes to stir-fry, and it is guaranteed to satisfy.
Garnish each bowl with a shrimp, a drizzle of Pernod if desired, and a piece of fennel frond.
Almost anything you catch yourself or find at the market can go into this stew. To not overcook the fish, add it just before serving with thicker slices going in maybe 2 minutes before thinner ones.
Regardless of cooking method, you'll produce dumplings filled with the elements of classic Chinese steamed fish. For the best results, select the freshest fish possible — it should have a bit of sheen and be devoid of any off odors.
This is summer finger food — a big pile of shrimp that you peel and eat with your fingers only needs lots of napkins. Shrimp stay juicier when grilled in their shells, and the short marinating time heightens their character. Serve them hot, warm, or lightly chilled with Cucumber Stick Salad.
Here is a remarkable dish that comes together in minutes yet still looks and tastes so elegant it's appropriate for serving at the fanciest dinner party you can imagine.