chinese tea-marinated trout
2 min readPreparation time 10 minutes, plus infusing, cooling and marinating Cooking time 15 minutes 2 tea bags infused in 200 ml(7 fl oz)boiling hot water 1 tablespoon peeled and grated fresh root ginger garlic clove,crushed 4 tablespoons kecap manis 2 tablespoons sweet chilli sauce 1 tablespoon clear honey 4 trout fillets, about 100 each 1 tablespoon sesame oil 2 tablespoons groundnut oil 200g(7 oz)baby pak choi, halved lengthways Once the tea bags have infused for 5 minutes, discard the bags. Stir in the ginger, garlic, sweet chilli sauce and honey until well blended. Leave to cool.
Lay the trout fillets in a shallow glass or ceramic dish and pour over the tea mixture. Cover and leave to marinate in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours, or overnight if time permits, turning the fish occasion-ally.
Remove the fish, reserving the marinade, and pat dry on kitchen paper. Heat the sesame oil with 1 tablespoon of the groundnut oil in a large nonstick frying pan, add the fish, skin-side down, and cook for 2-3 minutes. Turn the fish over and cook for 3 minutes. Remove to a warmed plate and cover with foil-it will continue cooking in its own steam while you cook the pak choi.
Heat the remaining oil in the pan over a high heat, add the pak choiand stir-fry until just beginning to wilt. Pour in half the reserved marinade bring to the boil and cook for 3-4 minutes until most of the liquid has evaporated and the pak choiis tender. Serve with the trout.
For trout prawn fishcakes, place 400(13 oz)trout fillets, skinned and roughly chopped, 200 g chopped raw peeled tiger prawns, 1 teaspoon each finely grated garlic and fresh root ginger, 1 deseeded and finely chopped red chilli, a small handful of chopped coriander, 1 beaten egg, 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce and 100 g (31/2 oz) breadcrumbs in a food processor. Season with salt and pepper and process until mixed. Divide into 12 round cakes. Arrange on a baking sheet lined with lightly greased nonstick baking paper and bake in a preheated oven, 200C(400F), for 15-20 minutes until lightly browned and cooked through.