Steamed White Fish with Hot Pepper Sauce
Hunan (Xiang) Cuisine
Serves 4

The Asian preparation of fish is completely different from what many of us are used to. We bake an entire fish, or fillet it and poach, grill, broil or fry the meat. In this recipe the white fish is steamed.

The fish is cleaned and the scales are removed. Cut the fish in two pieces of about equal size with your cleaver, one piece with the head and the other with the tail. Cutting vertically to the length of the body, make deep slashes into the meat to just above the bones. In a large pot place a metal trivet about four inches high. Fill the pot with water to just above the trivet. Place the fish into an oval heat proof glass dish or bamboo steamer and set it upon the trivet. Tightly cover the pot during the steaming process. Steamed in this manner, the result is a very mild and soft flesh that is receptive to seasoning sauces.

2 1/2 pounds Lake Superior white fish
Seasoning for Steaming
2 tablespoons ginger root, chopped fine
2 tablespoons cooking oil, peanut or vegetable
Seasoning After Steaming
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon white pepper powder
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
Hot Seasoning Sauce
2 tablespoons hot chili oil
1 tablespoon ginger root, shredded
4 medium hot red chili peppers, cut in 1/16” thick strips
3 green onions (scallions), in 2” lengths and cut into strips
4 tablespoons cooking oil, peanut or vegetable

Preparation: 1. Prepare the fish as discussed above. 2. Prepare the steaming pot and bring water to a boil. 3. Place the fish into the dish and add the chopped ginger root and cooking oil. 4. Place the dish in the steamer and steam for 20-22 minutes. Keep the water at a very high simmer, not a roiling boil. 5. Remove the fish carefully and place it on a serving platter. 6. Add the white pepper powder, salt, sugar and light soy sauce on top. 7. In the wok heat the 4 tablespoons of cooking oil to a high heat. Add the shredded ginger, chili peppers and green onions. 8. Stir fry for 30 seconds and pour over the fish. Serve.

Richard Wottrich

Cured Salmon & Boston Brown Bread
Appetizer
Serves 4

Sharon and I traveled to Nantucket in early October of 2001 with our good IMAP friends, Maja and Cordell from Portland, Oregon. Our destination on Nantucket (meaning “far away island”) was The Wauwinet, a Relais & Chateaux listed inn originally built by two sea captains in 1876. Wauwinet is about as far east as you can get on the island, sitting on a spit of land between the Atlantic and the bay next to a wildlife sanctuary.

Wauwinet is also home to Chef Chris Freeman’s Topper’s, one of the finest restaurants on the East Coast. Wine Spectator gives Topper’s its Grand Award for cellarmaster Craig Hanna’s $600,000, 18,000-bottle wine cellar with 800 vintages. Wauwinet’s own boat brings in fresh lobster and scallops each day from the bay. Breakfast was included in our room rate, and in particular I enjoyed wild turkey hash and scrambled eggs.

Our one dinner at Topper’s was among the finest I have ever experienced. This surprising appetizer of fresh-baked Boston brown bread was served with cured Salmon, Crème Fraîche and a dollop of caviar. As always, the key to this recipe is simplicity and the quality of its ingredients.

4 ounces smoked or cured Salmon, such as Gravet Laks.
1 can Boston brown bread, or a small loaf of fresh, sweet, moist bread
4 generous tablespoons of Crème Fraîche
1 ounce caviar

Preparation: 1. [Boston brown bread in a can is difficult to find these days. Baking it from scratch is time consuming, requiring three hours of steaming. Therefore I recommend buying any good fresh, sweet, moist bread, such as zucchini or banana bread. Raisins in the bread are an added plus. Experiment!] Wrap the bread in saran wrap and microwave or heat it until comfortably warm to the touch. Cut the bread into four ½-inch thick slices. Take a round cookie cutter and cut out four rounds, reserving the excess for another use. Place one round in the center of each appetizer plate. 2. [I happen to like citrus-cured Salmon if you can find it. Gravet Laks is excellent as well.] Drape three or four thin slices of the cured Salmon on top of the bread round. 3. Spoon a generous tablespoon of Crème Fraîche on top of the Salmon. 4. Making a shallow depression in the top of the crème fraiche, spoon in ¼ ounce of caviar on top. Serve at once while the bread is still warm.

Notes: Russian caviar is quite expensive obviously and as my hero, Jacques Pépin, said, “The international trade in beluga caviar ought to be halted until the fish that produce it are no longer threatened with extinction. During this time, caviar lovers might try the roe of United States farm-grown sturgeon, which has improved tremendously in the last few years and is more affordable than Caspian caviar."

There are many kinds of American caviar now available. "The sturgeon roe substitutes nicely for osetra. The gray-black paddlefish roe and the orangish trout roe are both good. The salmon roe is terrific, each big egg like a tiny clear marble...bursting with briny flavor." Gourmet magazine said, "Caviar is synonymous with luxury, but it may soon be associated with extinction. Your caviar dreams don't have to be an environmental nightmare. In a tasting of several farm-raised domestic caviars, we found Sterling Classic white sturgeon caviar from Stolt Sea Farm ‘truly delicious and fresh-tasting, with a great texture.' And even among those of us who don't really like salmon roe, the rainbow trout caviar from Sunburst Trout Company elicited raves."

Richard Wottrich