Meat!

By far my favorite way to eat white fish is steamed with a nice ginger scallion sauce. It's simple, subtle, well-balanced and elegant. Mmmmm. But I always have trouble convincing others to go in on the whole ginger-scallion fish (or better yet, crab!) at chinese restaurants because they just. don't. understand. how glorious it is. But also, it's not hard to make yourself.

Start with some flaky white fish. I used a humble red snapper because that's what was available, though I imagine a higher-end grouper or chilean sea bass would be even better. I steamed it in a bamboo steamer above a wok, with a circle of parchment paper beneath the fish to keep it from sticking. I didn't pay close attention to the time, but I think 10 minutes or so would be adequate. Personally, I like my fish a little rare and this time I overcooked it (to my taste).

The sauce:
Leftover chardonnay poured into a hot pan.
A big diced up chunk of ginger, and 3-4 thinly sliced scallions go in the liquid.
About a teaspoon of cornstarch to thicken.
Half a teaspoon, maybe even less, of garlic black bean sauce.
A couple teaspoons of sugar, because the wine gets a little sour.

This was shockingly easy to prepare adequately. However, I have not mastered the perfect subtlety and minimalism that this dish can achieve at its best. Next time I'll try water or fish stock instead of wine and no black bean sauce or sugar and the very best, freshest white fish I can find.