Steaming Fish in Parchment Paper

I had just remembered a very convenient way of steaming food, i.e. wrapping in foil or parchment paper and cooking it in the oven.

I tried this technique with my Steamed Vegetarian Tuna recipe yesterday and it worked amazing, without the excess water that dripped from the wok cover. Another reason why this worked great for me is because I do not own a big wok that allows me to place a large place in for steaming, nor do I own a pair of the special tongs that you use to remove a steaming plate of food from the wok.

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F degree.
2. Drizzle some white wine and soy sauce over and around fish. You could use fresh lemon juice or apple juice if you like. The liquid seasonings will create the steam inside the parchment pouch when the dish is baked.
3. Starting with the “point” of the paper heart, roll and crimp the edges until the fillets are totally encased and sealed in the “half-heart” shape.
4. Place the pouches on a cookie sheet and bake in the middle of the oven for about 20 minutes or until the pouches are puffy or had turned light brown in colour.
5. Remove from oven and place the pouches on a plate.
6. Using a pair of scissors, carefully cut an “X” in the center of the pouch, or cut an outline of the half-heart shape on the inside of the folded edges. Use extreme caution because the steam is very hot.

Steamed Vegetarian Fish with Lemon and Pickled Mustard

I’ve been craving steamed vegetarian fish for a long time, and I finally have all the ingredients in my mind to make this dish. I must say that the lemon really complement the saltiness of the pickled mustard (hum choy) well.

Ingredients

• Vegetarian salmon, about 3 cm thick slices
• Soft tofu, about 3cm thick slices
• Pickled mustard (hum choy), dice the stems, use the leaves as base layer
• Tomatoes, sliced or halved (if using cherry tomatoes)
• Lemon juice and slices
• Ginge, sliced
• Enoki mushrooms
• Cilantro, chopped
• Soy sauce
• Salt & white pepper to taste

Method

1. Lay the pickled mustard leaves as the base in a plate.
2. Arrange the ginger, fish and tofu according to your liking.
3. Sprinkle the chopped pickled mustard stems and tomatoes around the fish and tofu.
4. Pour lemon juice and a dash of soy sauce, salt and pepper onto the dish and arrange lemon slices on top of the fish and tofu.
5. Steam the dish forabout 30 minutes. I’m not sure how long a normal fish would take to cook, so please make sure that your fish is cooked if you’re not using vegetarian salmon.
6. Sprinkle enoki mushrooms on the dish when the dish is done. Turn of the heat and replace the cover to allow the heat to just soften the enoki mushrooms.
7. Garnish with chopped cilantro.

Preparation & cooking time: 45 minutes (15 to prepare, 30 to steam)…. 10 mins to eat… LOL…