delectation

IMBB VI: Grillers (and Barbecuers) Delight

Props to Too Many Chefs for hosting this month's Is My Blog Burning #6 -- they write, "If it's got barbecue sauce or grill marks on it, we want to sample it." As I don't have a BBQ (but have been to many, many, many BBQs this year), I decided to use my (rarely-used) grill pan instead. The following entry could have worked for last month's IMBB V, as I decided to grill some fish for this round.

Here then, is the recipe for Grilled Halibut, Scallops, & Baby Bok Choy with Garlic Black Bean Sauce

I used a recipe from the August issue of Bon Appetit, and used a black-bean garlic sauce marinade for halibut. The original recipe called for pork chops, so I toned down the marinade a bit to address the more delicate flavours of fish.

Fish (for 2)
1 lb. Halibut fillets
1/2 lb. large sea scallops
4 stalks of baby bok choy, cut in half

Marinade
1/4 cup Lee Kum Kee garlic black bean sauce
1.5 Tbs. Light soy sauce
1.5 tsp. sesame oil
1.5 tsp. finely minced ginger
3 generous cloves of garlic, chopped
1/8 cup Chinese Rice Wine

Mix marinade in a bowl, reserving some 5 Tbs. of the sauce. Marinate the fish and scallops in the marinade, some 10 minutes. Bush the cut sides of the baby bok choy with the reserved marinade. Heat up and oil the grill pan. When the pan smokes, add the halibut fillets and scallops (cooking in batches if necessary). Cook each side for about 3-5 minutes each, slightly less for the scallops. (Try not to move the fish or scallops before 3 minutes have elapsed, as they have a tendency to stick to the grill pan.

After the fish is cooked, place the vegetables, but side down into the grill pan. When tender (around 5 minutes), remove from pan.

Serve the fish fillets with around 3 large scallops and several half-stalks of baby bok choy. If you're not on Atkins, choose your carbohydrate -- either rice or couscous. I had the latter.

A side note: after reading Barrett's post about how smokey his kitchen got after his own grill pan dinner, and certainly after my own experience with my pan, I now understand why I so rarely use it. Food tends to get stuck to the bottom, and most inevitably burns. The resulting charred mess emits a not insignificant amount of smoke, and, if not careful you and your apartment could soon be engulfed in a hazy fog. Luckily for me I got to open many windows in the flat, and the smoke soon dissapated. Posted by claudine at July 18, 2004 09:39 PM | TrackBack