Because when I think of steamed fish I’m like, EHHHH….
But then I read this little ditty in the last book (well, second to last) I finished, and was like, THIS SOUNDS AWESOME. Mostly because it’s an absurd short cut that uses a rice cooker to steam fish AND make rice, which I am totally into.
Here it is:
Mahi Mahi (however much you can eat/fit into your rice cooker)
Rice (again, how much do you feel like eating? Put that much in your rice cooker)
For the fish rub:
2 Tb soy sauce
2 Tb sesame oil
1 Tb minced ginger
Green onions and cilantro for garnish
Start the rice cooker. While the rice is cooking pour the fish rub mixture over the fillets and let them soak up the goodness. Wait until the rice has about 6 minutes left (I couldn’t really tell, so I just forced the button into the “cook” position since I waited until the rice was pretty much ready to eat. It didn’t matter.) and then lay the mahi mahi on top of the rice. Close the lid and let the fish steam until it flakes apart with a fork. Garnish with chopped green onion and plenty of cilantro.
That idea was taken from Judith Jones’ The Tenth Muse, which I really enjoyed for it’s insight into the world of cook bookery and essentially the beginnings of America’s food renaissance. It was rife with celebrity chefs (the likes of James Beard and Julia Child… the originals, not exactly Anthony Bourdain) and jaunty trips to Paris and classy restaurants, which essentially just made me long to be a pivotal food writer in the 60s. After I finished that, I took to Cleaving (Julie Powell), and finished it in no time flat. Although it was a great read as a memoir, her writing about butchery is difficult to follow and left me nearly as clueless as I was before the read. Granted, it’s probably pretty hard to describe in writing how to break down a whole cow, and I’m a visual learner, so I should probably just watch a documentary, I guess. Anyone heard of any good butchery movies?
Now I’m onto the last read, Cheesemonger (Gordon Edgar) and am already infatuated with his self described “cheese punk” lifestyle. What am I going to do when I finish this one and I’m out of food memoirs?
Dammit, Sally, now I’ve got to think about getting a rice steamer, because I am all about making a couple things in one pot! Also? Glad to know that I wasn’t the only one left a bit baffled by the butchery details in “Cleaving”.
I feel the same way about steamed fish, but this looks and sounds really good AND easy. We will try it soon.
Hi Sally!
You’ve read M.F.K. Fisher, right?
Gotta go, ’cause you’ve made me hungry!
I’ve been doing this for awhile with salmon (comes out AWESOME), but although swai, tillapia and whiting indeed cook, they all come out soggy and almost gelatinous. Haven’t tried mahi mahi yet, good to know that salmon isn’t the only one that can be done well this way.