Claypot Flounder with Ginger and Scallion

This is one of those weeknight meals I just sort of cobbled together with stuff I had in the fridge. It leans towards Chinese in flavour but I wouldn’t go so far as to call it an authentic claypot dish. It was good, but the real star of the meal was the rice.

If you’re wondering why the rice looks purple it’s because I cooked it substituting about 2 Tbs water for red wine along with a pinch of salt. I’d run out of red wine while making Coq Au Vin the other day so I had to open another bottle to supplement. This one was a Portuguese Tempranillo blend that just wasn’t ready to drink yet (I should have just stuck with a tried and true Touriga Nacional blend).

I usually add a splash of sake when I cook rice, so adding the wine wasn’t a huge stretch for me. I knew it was going to be good when the rice started cooking because the apartment filled up with a wonderful earthy aroma that was more vegetal than fruity. The best part is that I think it would work with both European or Asian dishes depending on what type of rice you use. Will definitely be experimenting more with this soon.

Getting back to the main, the fish broke apart during cooking which makes me think a firmer white meat fish may work better here. I also made the mistake of stirring it after adding the fish which didn’t help matters. It did taste good though, especially with the red wine rice.

for fish and marinade
3/4 lbs white meat fish (I used flounder) cut into medium pieces
1 Tbs oyster sauce
1 Tbs shaoxing wine
1 tsp corn starch
1/2 tsp sesame oil
white pepper

for sauce
1 C low sodium chicken stock
2 Tbs shaoxing wine
2 tsp oyster sauce
1 tsp soy sauce
1 Tbs corn starch
white pepper

1.5″ knob of ginger peeled and sliced into very thin matchsticks
3 scallions cut into 1.5″ pieces
2 cloves of garlic sliced thin
small package of bamboo shoots sliced
5 oz firm tofu cut into blocks
2 small bok choy cut into quarters

Marinate the fish with the marinade ingredients for 10-15 minutes. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Stir together the ingredients for the sauce in a small bowl.

Heat a tablespoon of oil in a claypot or small french oven until the oil is very hot and shimmering. Add the ginger, scallions and garlic and quickly fry until fragrant. Add the bamboo shoots and tofu then top with the marinated fish and bok choy. Stir the sauce again to ensure the starch hasn’t settled then pour it on top of everything. Put the lid on the pot and place it in the oven.

Bake for 10-15 minutes or until the fish is just cooked and the sauce has thickened.

Serve with steamed rice.

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