Chef Alana Peckham · Cru Restaurant
CHINESE ENJOY fish soup and, very often, devour the flesh by dipping it in chilies and soy sauce. Firm textured, flaky and mild flavoured, lingcod is the perfect fish for soups. This clean-tasting, flavourful dish showcases Chef Peckham’s French culinary training and her interest in local, seasonal products, trademarks that have brought particular attention to her small-plates menu at Cru Restaurant.
Dashi is best used the same day, but any leftover broth can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 2 days and used as a soup base or dipping sauce.
DASHI Place 4 cups water and kombu in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil on high heat. Immediately reduce the heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove kombu and turn off the heat. Add bonito flakes and allow to steep for 30 minutes. Place a fine-mesh sieve over a medium saucepan. Strain broth, discarding bonito flakes and any other solids.
Seared Lingcod with Shanghai Bok Choy
3 Tbsp canola oil
4 lingcod fillets, each 5 oz
2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
¼ cup + 1 Tbsp ponzu sauce
1 Tbsp mirin
20 whole baby Shanghai bok choy, rinsed and drained
LINGCOD Preheat the oven to 475°F.
In a large ovenproof pan, heat canola oil on high. Sprinkle lingcod with 1 tsp of the salt. When the pan is hot and smoking, gently place lingcod in the pan and cook until the edges are golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Place the pan in the oven and grill for 3 to 5 minutes, until fish is cooked and flakes when poked with a fork. Remove the pan from the oven.
Gently turn fish over, add butter and 1 Tbsp ponzu sauce and allow to sizzle until butter melts completely. Set aside.
Place the saucepan of dashi on high heat, add mirin, the remaining 1 tsp salt, ¼ cup ponzu sauce and bring to a boil. Add bok choy and cook for 45 seconds. To serve, arrange 1 piece of lingcod and 5 pieces of bok choy on each of 4 plates. Drizzle each serving with ¼ cup of the dashi sauce and serve immediately.