Outdoors

It's okay, get steamed

By Laura Reiley
Published June 1, 2007

The old adage, "Give a man a fish and he eats for a day, yada yada ..." is somewhat misleading. Unless he enjoys a steady diet of sashimi, you've also got to teach that angler what to do with the product of his labors. Once the fish are wrestled ashore, then what? Tampa Bay fishermen are blessed with a superabundance - both in sheer quantity and in diversity of species, many of them delicious. Most anglers develop a short and sweet repertoire of recipes that handily dispatch their catch, their aim to showcase the unmistakable flavor of just-caught fish. Still, it's easy to get stuck in a rut. Cracker crumbs, lemon wedges, a heavy squeeze of garlic: most of us keep dipping from the same well of ingredients. This column, which will appear occasionally in Gulf & Bay, is intended to broaden culinary horizons.

In careful hands, steam is the gentlest of cooking methods, restoring moisture and imparting added flavor to cooking foods. To steam, essentially, is to suspend food over simmering liquid, the mild convection of heated vapor penetrating the food. How best to create this culinary sauna is a matter of opinion. In Asia a multilevel bamboo steamer tucks into a wok of just-boiling water, a tight lid trapping the transforming mist. The French often prefer swaddling foods "en papillote" - parchment, waxed paper or even foil serving as sealed envelopes to steam foods in their own evaporating liquids.

Soy-marinated red snapper and shiitake mushrooms in parchment with edamame

11/4 teaspoons finely grated fresh ginger

1/4 teaspoon grated orange zest

1/4 teaspoon ground coriander

2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil

1 teaspoon white or black sesame seeds (optional)

1 tablespoon soy sauce

2 teaspoons rice wine (mirin), or sherry

2 scallions, white and green finely chopped

Freshly ground pepper, to taste

Two 4-ounce fillets red snapper, or other firm fish, about 3/4-inch thick

6 shiitake mushrooms, stems removed, caps scored with an X

3/4-pound frozen edamame in the shell

Sea salt or coarse salt, for edamame

Two 10-inch squares parchment paper (or aluminum foil)

In a medium bowl, stir together ginger, orange zest, coriander, sesame oil, sesame seeds, soy sauce, rice wine, scallions, and pepper to taste. Place snapper fillets and mushrooms in bowl, turning by hand to coat with marinade. Set aside to marinate at least 10 minutes or up to one hour in refrigerator.

Fold parchment squares in half diagonally to make triangles. Unfold and place one fish fillet topped with three mushrooms near the center seam of unfolded square. Dab remaining solids from marinade over the top of fish and mushrooms. Fold the top over the fish and, beginning at one point of the triangle, begin to fold over in little pinches, continuing around the edge to seal the packets. Place two finished packets on a baking sheet.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake 8 minutes. (If you'd like to see the parchment paper more appealingly browned, turn on the broiler for 30 seconds at the end.) Meanwhile, place frozen edamame in steamer basket over boiling water; boil five minutes, covered.

Transfer fish packets to individual dinner plates, sprinkle edamame with salt and heap onto dinner plate; serve immediately.

Makes 2 servings but can easily be doubled.

[Last modified May 31, 2007, 23:28:05]