Good Fish_ Sustainable Seafood Recipes From the Pacific Coast - Becky Selengut [52]
QUESTIONS TO ASK BEFORE YOU PULL OUT YOUR WALLET: Is the black cod from Alaska? Is it wild? Most black cod is wild, but I’m starting to see farmed Canadian product coming to market. Like farmed salmon, most of the farmed black cod in offshore operations carry many environmental risks.
CARING FOR YOUR GOOD FISH: When I get any fish fillet home that I’m not able to use that night, I take it out of its packaging, pat it dry with paper towels, rewrap it in plastic wrap, put it in a drip pan (a perforated pan or a colander over a bowl), and throw some ice on top before storing it in the refrigerator. This ensures that the fillet is optimally chilled to preserve freshness and is ready to cook the next day.
HOW THIS TYPE OF SEAFOOD IS RAISED OR HARVESTED: Black cod is caught in the wild using three different methods: long-lining (see Wild Fish on page xxix for an explanation), in pots, or by trawling (see page xxix for an explanation). In Alaska and British Columbia, the first two methods are used (making black cod from those areas a Best Choice), whereas in California, Oregon, and Washington, black cod used to be caught by trawling, though fishermen tell me that Pacific Coast black cod fisheries are mostly pot or long-line now.
SUSTAINABLE SUBSTITUTES: Hmmm, a stick of butter comes to mind. Or perhaps a piece of halibut coated with butter, wrapped in bacon, and coated with more butter. A really fatty piece of chinook would be the closest substitute for the richness of black cod.
roasted black cod with bok choy and soy caramel sauce
5 ounces red cabbage, thinly
sliced (about 2 cups)
2 large bulbs bok choy, halved
2 small tomatoes, halved
Salt
4 green onions, white and
green parts cut into 3-inch
lengths
4 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
4 teaspoons seasoned rice wine
vinegar
4 slices lime
1 serrano chile, sliced (optional)
1 pound black cod fillet or
steaks, cut into 4 equal
portions
½ cup Soy Caramel Sauce
(page 53)
4 cups cooked rice
Typically when I develop a recipe, I do my utmost to roll out a red carpet for the star ingredient. I may add other ingredients to boost the star, but it’s clear they play second fiddle. A great piece of fish deserves top billing. Herbs, spices, and sauces are relegated to the role of supporting cast—until now. Let me be frank: this dish is all about the soy caramel. It was always all about the soy caramel. The black cod is merely a delicious platform on which the sauce sits. The bok choy and cabbage are vegetal intermissions. When the house lights dim, the soy caramel upstages them all.
SERVES 4
Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Line a sheet pan with aluminum foil.
You’re going to make 4 separate piles on the foil. Each pile will get ½ cup cabbage, a bok choy half, a tomato half sprinkled with a little salt, and a quarter of the green onions. Drizzle each pile with 1 teaspoon sesame oil and 1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar. Top with a lime slice and sprinkle with some chile pieces. Roast the vegetables in the oven for 20 minutes, or until they are soft and lightly browned around the edges. Keep the oven on.
Remove the pan from the oven, place one piece of black cod, skin side down, on each pile, and drizzle 1 tablespoon soy caramel sauce on each piece of fish. Roast for another 8 to 10 minutes or until a press of the finger reveals a sliding away, ever so gently, of the fish into the beginning of individual flakes. Serve with the rice and remaining soy caramel sauce.
PAIRING: An Oregon pinot gris, such as Eyrie Vineyards 2007, Willamette Valley, or a Savennières from the Loire Valley in France.
sake-steamed black cod with ginger and sesame
1 pound black cod fillet, cut
into 4 equal portions
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 cup sake
1 cup water
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon grated fresh
ginger
2 teaspoons plus ¼ teaspoon
toasted sesame oil
8