Asian fish packets (le colonial)

4 Servings

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
¾ cup Coconut milk, light
2 tablespoons Fresh ginger root, minced
1 tablespoon Sugar
1 tablespoon Lime juice
1 teaspoon Fish sauce, Asian
¾ teaspoon Salt
24 ounces Sea bass fillets, or grouper (remove skin; one fillet per serving)
4 teaspoons Mint leaves, minced

Directions

The fillets should be the same thickness so they cook in the same amount of time. The packets can be prepared several hours ahead and refrigerated until ready to cook.

Combine coconut milk, ginger, sugar, lime juice, fish sauce and salt in small dish.

Center each fillet on aluminum foil and bring up sides of foil close to edges of each fillet. Top each fillet with 3 tablespoons coconut milk mixture and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon mint. Fold together edges of foil to make 4 airtight packets.

Place packets in single layer on baking sheet. Bake at 450 degrees until fish is cooked through, about 18 minutes for 1-inch-thick fillets. Serve hot, at room temperature or chilled.

4 servings. Each serving: 252 calories; 595 mg sodium; 109 mg cholesterol; 14 grams fat; 7 grams carbohydrates; 25 grams protein; 1.21 grams fiber. MC 210 calories, 5.9 g fat (25⅘%cff) Tip -- Called nam pla in Thai, nuoc mam in Vietnamese, petis in Filipino and tuk trey in Cambodian, fish sauce is the salt brine in which fish have been pickled. It has a loud fishy aroma and, in small quantities, it gives an indispensable authentic flavor to many Southeast Asian dishes. You can find fish sauce at Asian grocery stores and sometimes in the Asian sections of supermarkets. -- AM

GOOD COOKING: An Asian Meal for All Seasons. ** MENU * ASIAN FISH PACKETS * THIN NOODLES WITH CARROTS, GREEN ONIONS AND CILANTRO * ORANGE CAKE WITH ORANGE SYRUP ** I've adapted these recipes for grouper in coconut milk and noodles with carrots from some dishes I tried at LE COLONIAL, A SMALL INDOCHINESE RESTAURANT IN ST. BARTH'S IN THE FRENCH WEST INDIES. ** This is a most appealing, upbeat meal. And although I like these dishes served hot, they are also good served at room temperature or chilled in hot weather.

Snow peas make an excellent addition to the plate. ** A warm orange cake served with warm orange syrup from Maya's, a restaurant perched right on the water's edge, is a delicious finish for the meal. For a more festive appearance, serve sliced, sugared strawberries or raspberries on the side.

** Mandel is a cookbook author. Her latest book is "Celebrating the Midwestern Table" (Doubleday & Co., 1996).

Posted on McRecipe by Pat Hanneman (phannema@...) | MC 3 Recipe by: ABBY MANDEL, April 30, 1997 Posted to MC-Recipe Digest V1 #649 by Kitchen PATh <phannema@...> on Jun 26, 1997

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