Fish For Julie

Hello Everyone

My friend Julie and I planned on seeing the movie musical Chicago on Saturday, but after seeing a line of at least 500 people wrapped around a city block we changed our minds. Julie quickly scalped the movie tickets and we were on our way to the Chelsea Market to buy food for dinner.

Since both of us had already eaten pretty big lunches, we decided to go for something light. We landed on fish and the wheels began to spin. All I could think about was the braised leeks and Cinzano brodo I had the night before at Mario Batali's restaurant Babbo (1). The flavor combination was incredible. I wanted to replicate this concept in a different form and my head kept saying Asian. An idea for a green tea infused broth kept coming to me, so when I got home I tried it out. Water, green tea bags and a mirepoix (2) -- It was bitter and totally awful so I went back to the drawing board. The resulting broth that was created was absolutely delicious.

Let me know what you think of this one and if you have any adjustments or ideas on how to make it better, drop me a line.

Have a great week.

Michael
"Always remember that food is about more than eating...it is about thinking, buying, preparing, enjoying and most importantly... sharing."

Julie's Sea Bass
You can use any firm white fish for this light and delicious recipe. Julie and I served it with French green beans that we boiled until they were al dente. It would also be good with sweet and sticky Japanese rice. Also note that if you do not have a kitchen grill, the fish can be pan fried or broiled. This recipe serves two.

1 tbsp butter
1 medium shallot minced
1 cup rice cooking wine (3)
3 heads of baby bok choy (4), chopped
1 tsp fish sauce
1/2 Meyer lemon (or regular lemon if you cannot find a Meyer)
3 tbsp chopped cilantro
1 pound Sea Bass or firm white fish

Melt butter in sauce pan and add shallots. Saute over medium heat until translucent, turn heat on high and deglaze pan with 1/2 cup of rice cooking wine. Cook down until most of the liquid is gone. Add the bok choy and cook until wilted. Add the rest of the rice cooking wine, fish sauce and lemon and cook until half of the liquid remains. Turn off heat to keep the liquid from simmering away into nothing. While you are preparing the bok choy, grill, pan fry or broil the fish to your liking. To serve, put the bok choy on a plate and place the fish on top. Spoon the sauce over the top of the fish and eat.

FoodNoteworthies

(1) Babbo has got to be one of my favorite restaurants in New York City. Opened a few years back by famed Food TV chef Mario Batali, this Greenwich Village townhouse turned restaurant gets a 26 in Zagat. If you make it to New York and cannot get a reservation, drop in and grab a seat at the bar. They serve the full menu and the bartenders know their food and wine.

(2) Mirepoix is simply a mixture of carrot, celery and onion and is commonly used to flavor sauces and serves as a base for making stock of any kind.

(3) You can find rice cooking wine at any Asian supermarket or online. These wines have a very high alcohol content of about 15%. You need to make sure when using this that you let the alcohol cook off or your meal will taste like a brewery! A top quality dry sherry is a good substitute.

(4) Baby bok choy can be found at any gourmet grocery or in an Asian supermarket. There is no substitute for this. Make sure you thoroughly clean each and every leaf as this leafy veg has a tendency to collect quite a bit sand and dirt.