Steamed Snapper with Ginger, Lime and Cilantro

All of the late nights eating dinner at my desk mean that I end up eating a lot of pan-Asian (the easiest thing to share with a bunch of coworkers, including one that has a gluten allergy, is Thai or pan-Asian).  And there is the occasional pizza or burger thrown in at 11 pm for good measure.  After I finish one of those work benders all I want is vegetables and simple home-cooked meals, including lots and lots of seafood.  It's hard to order decent seafood for delivery (except sushi, which I order if I am eating by myself).  Since I have a few days off for Christmas I dragged Alex to Citarella on Saturday afternoon for some nice fish.  That night we made some nice rainbow trout (seasoned lightly with cayenne pepper and s&p, before being lightly dredged in flour and pan-fried in butter with a squirt of fresh lemon juice for serving) and yesterday afternoon we made red snapper.  Red snapper isn't one of my favorite fish, but I do enjoy it from time to time (plus it looked really good so I couldn't resist).  Since I was looking for something really light and simple we decided to make this steamed snapper recipe I found on Epicurious except that instead of steaming it we made little foil packets and baked the fish in the oven (which basically braised/steamed it).  The fish was easy and fresh - which was exactly what I needed.  And served with some coconut rice it made a simple, but flavorful meal.  The sauce that you steam/bake the fish in is really nice (the combination of lime, herbs, soy, fish sauce, sesame and soy is right up my alley) and it really helped take the very mild flavor of the snapper and amp it up without totally overpowering the fish.  

Now I just have to figure out what I want to do with the swordfish we picked up at Citarella.  I'm thinking we will stick with simple - lemon juice, some herbs, and evoo are at the top of my list right now.  We need something light to balance out the pork belly we are eating for dinner.  But it's going to have to be a game time decision...

Recipe after the jump!



Steamed Snapper with Ginger, Lime and Cilantro
Adapted from Bon Appetit
March 2005

INGREDIENTS:
3 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped and divided
1/4 cup bottled clam juice
2 tbsp fresh lime juice
2 tbsp scallion, chopped
1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated and peeled
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
1 tsp fish sauce
2 6- to 8-ounce red snapper fillets or halibut fillets

Mix 3 tablespoons cilantro and next 7 ingredients in small bowl to blend.  Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Prepare aluminum foil in rectangular pieces large enough to fully wrap each fish fillet.  Place the fish in the center of each piece of aluminum foil.  Fold up the edges of the aluminum foil.  Spoon the cilantro sauce over the fish.  Sprinkle fish with s&p.  Wrap the fish in the aluminum foil, crimping the edges and folding them over to seal each packet.  Place foil packets on a rimmed baking sheet.

Bake fish until just opaque and fully cooked, about 15 minutes.  Drizzle with sauce and serve with coconut rice.