Thai Snapper
Tender fillets are seasoned with lime and ginger and cooked in a foil packet. Don’t be tempted to assemble the packets too far ahead of time; the lime juice will start to “cook” the fillets, giving them a mushy texture. Instead, cut the vegetables and prepare the lime juice mixture several hours early and assemble the packets just before cooking.
PREP: 30 minutes GRILL: 8 minutes
MAKES: 4 main-dish servings
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon Asian fish sauce
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon grated, peeled fresh ginger
(see Tip)
½ teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon minced garlic
4 (16" by 12") heavy-duty foil sheets
4 red snapper fillets (about 6 ounces each)
1 large carrot, peeled and cut into
2¼ -inch-long matchstick strips
1 large green onion, thinly sliced
¼ cup loosely packed fresh cilantro leaves
1. Prepare outdoor grill for direct grilling over medium heat.
2. In small bowl, mix lime juice, fish sauce, oil, ginger, sugar, and garlic.
3. Fold each foil sheet crosswise in half and open up again. Place 1 fillet, skin side down, on one half of each foil sheet. Top each with carrot strips, green onion, and cilantro. Spoon lime juice mixture over snapper and vegetables. Fold unfilled half of foil over fish. To seal packets, beginning at a corner where foil is folded, make small ½-inch folds, with each new fold overlapping previous one, until packet is completely sealed. Packet will resemble half-circle.
4. Place packets on hot grill rack and cook 8 minutes.
5. To serve, with kitchen shears, cut an X in top of each packet to allow steam to escape before carefully opening foil.
EACH SERVING: About 230 calories, 36g protein, 5g carbohydrate, 6g total fat (1g saturated), 63mg cholesterol, 270mg sodium
TIP: Use a spoon, not a vegetable peeler, next time you need peeled ginger. Use its edge or tip to scrape away the skin. You’ll find that a spoon maneuvers better than a peeler around the rhizome’s knobby ends. It also removes a thinner layer of skin, keeping more of the ginger for you to use.