Steamed Sea Bass

On Friday afternoon I went to the opticians to have my eyes tested again, which took forever, and my eye sight has changed, which means new glasses. So that was £250! I know that these are essential items, I can't see without them, but really £250!! At least I do have some nice new red frames.

Earlier in the week, whilst moving the table in my bedsit, I knocked all my white plates and bowls that I use for this blog off the table, and smashed all but two of them. I was so cross. That warranted a trip to Marks and Spencer to replace them, they are only about £2-3 each so it wasn't too bad and they had a 3 for 2 offer on, even cheaper! I also found some gorgeous retro red coffee cups for £1 each so I bought 4 of them.

I arrived home with a much lighter purse and wanting something yummy and comforting for dinner. I had planned to make this sea bass dish a couple of weeks ago but didn't get around to it, so I tried again this week.

It was very simple to make, but the flavours were delicious. It also came out slightly spicy, and I still can't figure out why, other than that the garlic I used had been near some chilli. The original recipe called for pak choi, but I didn't have any, so I just used some sugar snap peas and broccoli. I served this with jasmine rice which I boiled in some vegetable stock, something I've never tried before, which definitely added some flavour to it.

Steamed Sea Bass (adapted from Good Food Aug 2006)
(Serves 2)

small piece of ginger, peeled and sliced
2 garlic cloves, finely sliced
3 spring onions, finely sliced
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil
splash of sherry or saki
2 x 140g fillets sea bass
veg such as pak choi, sugar snap peas, spinach or broccoli

In a small bowl, mix all of the ingredients, except the fish and the veg, together to make a soy mix. Line one tier of a two-tiered bamboo steamer loosely with foil. Lay the fish, skin side up, on the foil and spoon over the soy mix. Place the fish over simmering water and throw the veg into the second tier and cover it with a lid. Alternatively, add the veg to the fish layer after 2 mins of cooking - the closer the tier is to the steam, the hotter it is.

Leave everything to steam for 6-8 mins until the veg has wilted and the fish is cooked. Divide the greens between two plates, then carefully lift out the fish. Lift the foil up and drizzle the tasty juices back over the fish.