Lemongrass steamed idiot fish with Chinese Corn Noodles, Kohlrabi and Vietnamese Perilla Herb!
This recipe is a nice fusion of popular Chinese and Vietnamese ingredients. Lemongrass (Xả) is a great flavor for delicate tasting seafood. Vietnamese perilla (Tiá Tô) is in the mint family of plants, just like basil is. Vietnamese perilla leaves are green on top and purple underneath. Vietnamese perilla leaves are serrated, like Korean perilla, but they have a milder flavor and less variation in flavor. The complex flavors of all perilla are similar to the complex flavors of Thai Holy Basil, but the perilla is not nearly as strong. Vietnamese perilla is a gentle complex tasting herb! Chinese corn noodles are made with ground dried corn and they are not like Korean corn noodles that are made out of corn flower starch. Corn noodles kind of taste like American corn bread. I really like the flavor of Chinese corn noodles, because they go well with seafood. Kohlrabi is popular for making Vietnamese salads and soups. Kohlrabi is native to India and it tastes like a combination of cabbage and broccoli. The feature ingredient of this recipe is idiot fish. Idiot fish are also called Shortspine Thornyhead, Longspine Thornyhead and Idiot Cod. Idiot fish are not in the cod family of fish. Idiot fish are in the scorpionfish family of fish, just like rockfish and Pacific ocean perch. California idiot fish spines do contain minuscule amounts of deadly neurotoxins, but not as much as the deadly types of scorpionfish. The downside of idiot fish is that they are covered with very sharp spines that can easily puncture skin and cause infections. The danger level of toxins in the California idiot fish spines are very minimal. To poach whole idiot fish is to knowingly serve a dangerous meal. A customer that orders whole poached idiot fish must made aware that the spines are sharp and there are many of them. The spines of a poached whole idiot fish do act as a very interesting exotic sight to see in this old fashioned traditional Chinese style fish presentation! Filleting idiot fish is not worth the effort, because there is very little meat on this species of fish. Other fish can be substituted for idiot fish in this recipe, if you are shy about whole fish presentations and sharp spines! Red bream and tilapia are good choices. Idiot fish live in very deep water that contains very little oxygen or sun light. Idiot fish have big eyes and their mouths usually hang open like a cartoon caricature of an idiot. They are deep red in color, small and there are only two small short filets of meat. Like deep water ruby red shrimp, the meat has a rich clean flavor and it is coated with sticky fat. The meat is white and it flakes like king crab claw meat. The layer of sticky fat is much darker than the meat. Idiot fish are usually poached or steamed whole and are only delicately seasoned. Canadian and Japanese shortspine idiot fish are endangered species. The longspine and shortspine idiot fish numbers are within the sustainable seafood range along the California coastline, because of strict federal regulations. All species of idiot fish are dwindling in numbers, even though strict regulations and the high price of fuel have restricted fishing for idiot fish. There is another factor involved in the declining idiot fish numbers, but marine biologists cannot state exactly what the problem is. It is probably due to the deep water low oxygen related slow breeding cycle of this fish. I rarely feature a recipe for a fish that is dwindling in numbers, because I only feature sustainable seafood in this food blog. I did chose sustainable level idiot fish from California waters. Just simply writing an article in a newspaper does not always reach those who care. I have noticed that many readers of this blog do seek sustainable seafood recipes and that is a very good thing! Those who practice sustainable seafood ideals do have self control. That is the lesson to be learned in these opening paragraphs. I have seen idiot fish for sale my entire life and I have never eaten any, till today. Some fish, plants and animals really should only be eaten once in a lifetime, because they can easily dwindle in numbers. For people with no self control, when a good tasting fish is eaten, they demand more and more. That is gluttony. Gluttony and greed are the main reasons that seafood stocks have dwindled to seriously low numbers. It is better to taste a good thing once and remember how delightful it was, than to taste a good thing and demand more, till none are left! The two California idiot fish in this recipe are the only two that I will ever eat, not because there is no more, but because I do not wish to be part of an extinction of a species! A self control decision like this is what sets mankind above regular animals. If more people practiced this conservative philosophy, then there would be plenty of fish in the sea for future generations. I do not allow idiot fish to suffer the same fate as the extinct Atlantic cod, so show some self control if you ever try idiot fish! California idiot fish are within the range of sustainability numbers, but that may not last for long. The California idiot fish fishery is well managed, but most of the fish are exported to Japan. Some people in Japan do not care if the California seafood stock is depleted like their their own seafood stock. Others in Japan have switched to a vegan lifestyle, because they are aware of depleting ocean stocks. Make the decision to try idiot fish only as a once in a lifetime experience and hang on to the nice memory or decide not try it at all! Scorn those who take a gluttonous approach. Only dine on wild seafood responsibly! Xả Steamed Idiot Fish With Corn Noodles, Kohlrabi and Tiá Tô Recipe: Be sure to have all the ingredients ready, before starting to cook this recipe! The stir fry vegetables and sauce at the end of the recipe only take a few minutes to cook. Place 4 cups of light white fish broth into a steamer pot. Tie a lemongrass stalk into a simple knot. Place the lemongrass knot in the pot. Add sea salt white pepper. Add 1 teaspoon of ginger paste. Place the pot over medium heat. Allow the lemongrass broth to gently boil and reduce, till 2 cups of liquid remain. Keep the steaming broth warm over very low heat, till later in the recipe. Cook 1 portion of Chinese corn noodles in boiling water. When the noodles become tender, drain off the hot water. Place the noodles in ice water and stir, so they cool quickly and gain a chewy texture. Drain the water off of the corn noodles and set them aside. Place 2 small idiot fish in steam basket and fan the fins out, so they look nice. (The idiot fish should only gutted and descaled. The heads and fins should be left on the fish. Raise the temperature of the lemongrass broth pot to high heat and bring the broth to a boil. Place the steam basket and idiot fish in the pot. (The steam basket should be elevated, so the fish does not make contact with the broth.) Place a lid over the pot. Steam the fish, till they become fully cooked. Remove steam basket with the idiot fish from the pot. Set the steam basket on a stove top. Keep the steam basket and fish covered and warm, while the sauce is quickly made. The lemongrass steaming broth should be rich tasting by now! Remove lemongrass knot and discard it. Heat saute pan or wok over medium, medium high heat. Add 1 small splash of vegetable oil. Add 2 cloves of chopped garlic. Saute till the garlic becomes aromatic and till it turns a golden color. Ad 1 small whole red Thai pepper that has the top cut off. Add 1 small handful of kohlrabi that is cut into 1/4" thick stick shapes. (1/4"x1/4"x4") Add 1 tiny handful of sliced bermuda onion. Add 1 tiny handful of julienne carrot. (1/8"x1/8"x4") Add 2 green onions that are cut into bite size pieces Saute and stir fry, till the vegetables start to become tender. Add 2 cups of the lemongrass poaching broth. Add 1 small pinch of turmeric. Add sea salt and white pepper only if the flavor needs adjusted! Mix a small amount of cornstarch and cold water together to form a slurry. Add just enough of the slurry, while stirring, to thicken the sauce to a medium this sauce consistency. Add 8 to 10 leaves of Vietnamese perilla leaves. Add the reserved cooked corn noodles. Toss ingredients together. Place the sauced corn noodles and vegetables on an oval shaped plate. Carefully use a spatula to remove one steamed idiot fish at a time from the steam basket and to set the idiot fish on top of the corn noodles and vegetables. (Delicate steamed fish like idiot fish can be easily damaged. The whole lemongrass steamed idiot fish are the focal point of this entree, so they have to look nice!) Garnish the plate with Vietnamese perilla sprigs. Note: This is an old fashioned Chinese style whole fish presentation. After the plate is presented, the filets can be easily popped off of the bones and the fish carcass can be removed and set aside. Some customers like to fiddle around with the fish on their own. Be sure to warn those kind of customers that the spines are sharp!
This is an interest looking plate of food that is exotic and exciting! Those who are used to tame presentations may prefer some help with the fish at the table and that leads to a good opportunity to show off your table side service skills. The flavor of this entree is very nice! Yum! ... Shawna
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