Chinese Steamed Fish

Everyone in my family can cook. My sister has a sweet tooth and loves to bake coconut cakes, passion fruit custards, and silky meringues.  My mother owned a catering business for years serving spinach turnovers and grapefruit avocado salads, yet her best dish was always her home-cooked mashed potatoes full of sour cream and hearty potato skins.  My brother loves to host a party, preparing an abundance of dishes including his famous deviled eggs.  My father loves soul food and barbecue, but when he cooks he tends to create refined dishes like steamed mussels in lemongrass broth.  I was a "late cooker," as there were already too many cooks in the kitchen at my house growing up. The first time I ever baked was after I gave up wheat, sugar, and dairy as an adult.  Since then, I have finally made my way into my "family's kitchen" as a chef.  When my father and sister came to visit, our father planned a delicious Chinese feast that we all cooked together.  We steamed snapper with black beans, sauteed watercress and enoki mushrooms, stewed some melon soup, and picked up some roast duck and pork in Chinatown.  Here is the recipe for the snapper and sauteed vegetables.  Look in your local Asian market for these ingredients.

Ingredients

• 1-2 fillets of snapper
• 1 small bunch of scallions, sliced
• 1 large chunk of ginger, minced or grated
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup of salted black beans
• 1 cup of vegetable broth
• 1 bunch of fresh watercress
• 1 bunch of enoki mushrooms
• sesame oil

Directions

1. In a pan, simmer the vegetable broth with the salted black beans, and about half of the scallions, ginger, and garlic.  Heat until beans are soft and the flavors are integrated.
2. In a steamer, steam the fish with the rest of the scallions, ginger and garlic for about 10 minutes until cooked through.
3. In a saute pan, saute the mushrooms in a little sesame oil over medium-high heat.
4. When the mushrooms are almost cooked through add the watercress, and a splash of water or vegetable broth and cook for another minute.
5. To serve, pour the black bean broth over the cooked fish.  Serve with the side of vegetables and some rice.