I might be exaggerating, but to nine-year-old me it felt like 5,000 fishes. In 1982, there was a BBC1 TV show called Pebble Mill at One, which featured Glynn Christian as its pioneering TV chef, who I think paved the way for the likes of Keith Floyd and all the celebrity chefs who followed. Glynn used to cook privately for my parents’ business partners, and through this connection my brother Al got his 15 minutes of fame at the age of 13. I don’t remember the whys and wherefores; I just knew that he was going to cook on the television! I don’t know if there was a brief, but my pa decided that Al should cook a fish dish: namely golden pan-fried fish with ginger and spring onions. The Chinese characters for this dish translate literally as “fried, sealed fish”, which loses all of its poetry, but what it lacks in translation, it makes up for in flavour.
My father is not a soft taskmaster, so for weeks running up to the event, he must have made Al cook this dish every night, sometimes even twice a night, until he was satisfied that he had perfected the technique. He would stand behind Al, watching critically over his shoulder. The ginger was too fine, then not fine enough. The spring onions were cut unevenly. The fish was cooked, but not golden – the heat was too low; the fish was golden but not cooked – the heat was too high. I remember the focus, the concentration, the single-mindedness of those cooking sessions, and it felt as if we were having to eat 5,000 fishes in a month.
I usually steam my fish, but I recently decided to replicate that same dish at home. This method of cooking produces food that evokes an oral sensation that the Chinese call “mouth fragrant” – that is, literally something that smells good in your mouth. Fish with a slightly firmer flesh produces the best results, because it can withstand all the swirling around in the pan; thanks to its meatier texture, my kids call this “chicken fish”. I don’t have to focus or concentrate in the same way as my brother did, partly because I’m not cooking for my pa and partly because I’m not nine years old, but properly chopped ingredients do make a difference, so I try to do him and the dish justice.
My kids like sauce, and I like sauce – in fact, I reckon I could survive mostly on rice and sauce – so the proportions below are just enough to enrobe the fish while maintaining its crisp edges. Sometimes I double them, though, to make more sauce so I can have saucy rice.
Golden pan-seared fish with ginger and spring onions
Prep 5 min
Cook 15 min
Serves 2
1 sole, gutted and cleaned – you could also use pomfret, bream or ray wing
2 tbsp soy sauce
3 tbsp Shaoxing wine
1 tbsp sugar
4 tbsp vegetable oil
10g root ginger, peeled and finely minced
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely minced
2 spring onions, trimmed and finely chopped
1 tsp sesame oil
1 handful fresh coriander leaves, to garnish
Wash the fish and pat it dry. In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, wine and sugar.
Put half the oil in a large nonstick or well-seasoned frying pan on a medium-high heat. Slide in the whole fish, and fry for a few minutes, swirling the pan to ensure the oil is evenly spread and to prevent the fish from sticking, much as you might when toasting sesame seeds or pine nuts, swirling the pan gently round and round until the fish is golden. Once the fish is golden underneath, gently flip it over and repeat on the other side until it’s cooked through. Transfer to a warm platter.
In the same pan, heat the remaining two tablespoons of vegetable oil, then add the ginger, garlic and spring onions, and fry for a minute or two until fragrant. Pour in the wine, soy sauce and sugar mixture and let it bubble away until it thickens, adding a splash of water if it thickens too much. Stir in the sesame oil, then pour the sauce all over the fish. Garnish with coriander and serve with plain rice.
Amy Poon is the founder of the Chinese heritage food brand Poon’s London. Rachel returns next week.
The Guardian aims to publish recipes for sustainable fish. Check ratings in your region: UK; Australia; US.
