I'll admit that I lied about increasing the frequency of my posts, or at least that while my spirit was willing, my flesh was weak. Let's ignore the usual prurient reference of that quote for a moment and just move on to my new recipe...
So one of the great finds since we've moved here to the Emirates has been the Nile Perch, a monstrous abomination of a fish that can grow as long as an adult human and probably could eat a baby if you fed it one - not that you would even think of doing that, dear reader. But despite the possibly high content of human baby flesh in its diet, (or perhaps because of it...?) the flesh of the fish is surprisingly tender and flavorful. Imagine the leathery blandness of a piece of cod, and then imagine the opposite, and you've got the Nile Perch. Since the Perch is a freshwater fish, I'd say the flavor and texture are actually kind of a combination of bass and walleye. It takes well to pretty much anything you throw at it. I've breaded and fried it, baked it and pan-seared it with a mustard cream sauce.
Its flesh has been compared to Chilean Seabass (aka Patagonian Toothfish), though it's likely none of us really knows what that is like. Apparently, the Patagonian Toothfish has been fished to near extinction, so if you order it in a high end joint you're likely just eating its cousin, the Antarctic Toothfish and paying way too much for the privilege. The Seabass actually got its name when a guy named Lee Lantz correctly deemed "Patagonian Toothfish" to be a shitty marketing tag, so he changed it to something more palatable - much as how Goosefish are now Monkfish and apparently Sea Urchins used to be called "whore's eggs."
Freshwater fish have actually played an incredibly important role in the history of food among the upper classes of a number of societies. The Chinese kept lakes in some of their larger estates to provide a steady supply of fresh fish in landlocked areas, and in Europe fish ponds were kept as early as Roman times. European nobles were especially keen on maintaining fish ponds on their properties, in part because they were attractive, but also because they had to refrain from their usual fare of meat (oh so much meat) on Fridays and during fasts, lest they risk angering the Lord, or at least the Papacy. The fish could either be consumed locally or sold at a premium in local markets, where merchants in towns were able to pay high prices for relatively rare fish meat (getting actual seafood even 20 miles from the coast usually meant getting it old, smelly and pricey).
The recipe is criminally easy, but quite tasty. Since acquiring Nile Perch will be tough for most of you, you can use firm fleshed white fish like Goosefish (Monkfish!), Grouper, or even Halibut, but try to avoid tough stuff like Snappers or Cod. And stay away from the whore's eggs.
Marinade Ingredients:
2 cloves garlic, smashed
1/2 inch of ginger thinly sliced
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 tsp sesame oil
1/8 cup honey or maple syrup
juice of 1 orange
1 tsp canola oil
For Sauce: combine Marinade with
2 tbsp sugar
2 star anise
2 fillets of Nile Perch
Step 1:
Marinate the Perch in the ingredients for an hour or so
Step 2:
Preheat the Oven to about 375. I imagine that my oven is preheated to 375, but the stove we currently suffer only increases in 50 degree C increments, so you have to jockey between way too hot and too cool, and even then it's a crapshoot.
Step 3:
Put both fillets on baking paper and bake for about 25 minutes, or until the flesh flakes away. Don't overcook it, for God's sake.
Step 4:
Take the remaining marinade and make a sauce out of it. I know this is going to sound weird, because you just soaked fish in it, but you want the flavors of the fish in the sauce for richness. Add the marinade and the two tablespoons of sugar and the star anise to a small saucepan and reduce until you have a thick consistency. Cool a bit and fish out the chunky stuff.
Serve over rice with some sort of green. I usually use steamed broccoli or pak choi.
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| Nice sauce smear there Chief :p |
Its flesh has been compared to Chilean Seabass (aka Patagonian Toothfish), though it's likely none of us really knows what that is like. Apparently, the Patagonian Toothfish has been fished to near extinction, so if you order it in a high end joint you're likely just eating its cousin, the Antarctic Toothfish and paying way too much for the privilege. The Seabass actually got its name when a guy named Lee Lantz correctly deemed "Patagonian Toothfish" to be a shitty marketing tag, so he changed it to something more palatable - much as how Goosefish are now Monkfish and apparently Sea Urchins used to be called "whore's eggs."
Freshwater fish have actually played an incredibly important role in the history of food among the upper classes of a number of societies. The Chinese kept lakes in some of their larger estates to provide a steady supply of fresh fish in landlocked areas, and in Europe fish ponds were kept as early as Roman times. European nobles were especially keen on maintaining fish ponds on their properties, in part because they were attractive, but also because they had to refrain from their usual fare of meat (oh so much meat) on Fridays and during fasts, lest they risk angering the Lord, or at least the Papacy. The fish could either be consumed locally or sold at a premium in local markets, where merchants in towns were able to pay high prices for relatively rare fish meat (getting actual seafood even 20 miles from the coast usually meant getting it old, smelly and pricey).
The recipe is criminally easy, but quite tasty. Since acquiring Nile Perch will be tough for most of you, you can use firm fleshed white fish like Goosefish (Monkfish!), Grouper, or even Halibut, but try to avoid tough stuff like Snappers or Cod. And stay away from the whore's eggs.
Marinade Ingredients:
2 cloves garlic, smashed
1/2 inch of ginger thinly sliced
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 tsp sesame oil
1/8 cup honey or maple syrup
juice of 1 orange
1 tsp canola oil
For Sauce: combine Marinade with
2 tbsp sugar
2 star anise
2 fillets of Nile Perch
Step 1:
Marinate the Perch in the ingredients for an hour or so
Step 2:
Preheat the Oven to about 375. I imagine that my oven is preheated to 375, but the stove we currently suffer only increases in 50 degree C increments, so you have to jockey between way too hot and too cool, and even then it's a crapshoot.
Step 3:
Put both fillets on baking paper and bake for about 25 minutes, or until the flesh flakes away. Don't overcook it, for God's sake.
Step 4:
Take the remaining marinade and make a sauce out of it. I know this is going to sound weird, because you just soaked fish in it, but you want the flavors of the fish in the sauce for richness. Add the marinade and the two tablespoons of sugar and the star anise to a small saucepan and reduce until you have a thick consistency. Cool a bit and fish out the chunky stuff.
Serve over rice with some sort of green. I usually use steamed broccoli or pak choi.
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