A black snapper and dragon tattoo.

Thursday night’s dinner actually started on Wednesday. It started with a battle (yep, you guessed it… The FSL) and ended with a murder. But I did not kill the fish shop lady. I swear.

My Black Cod with Steamed Pak Choi & Cucumber

Jamie’s black cod needs to be marinated for 24 hours in order for it to go black, so on Wednesday, I went to the fish shop and asked for cod, with the skin on. But no, they didn’t have that and they couldn’t seem to find any customer service either... There’s a shocker. So I rang Ash. Ash was to be my dinner guest and had put the request in for the black cod recipe. We discussed skinless cod or snapper with skin and in the end decided the crispy skin factor was too important to forgo, so we ditched the cod and I swore to myself I’m ditching that fish shop.

The marinade was a combo of lemon grass, chilli, ginger, honey, white wine and miso paste, simmering together for a few minutes over medium heat, then left to cool before coating the fish fillets. Into the fridge for 24 hours.

Come Thursday night, at the end of relatively crappy day at work, Ash and I sat and enjoyed a vino on my balcony, before getting the frying pan nice and hot and throwing in the snapper, skin side down, so it sizzled and crisped. A quick flip to cook it through then served up with some rice and the steamed pak choi and cucumber (never cooked cucumber before – that’s a new one Jamie – and it was about as good as uncooked cucumber…) and drizzled with some of the marinade, which I’d set aside the night before and thinned out with a squeeze of lime.

It was interesting. The fish was pretty rich – you could really taste the miso and the honey – but the lime in the dressing and squeezed over the top, cut through it. I don’t think I’d rush to make it again, but it was different. Not different like poached salmon (I mean really!) but different like a black fish would be.

Oh and the murder – that was in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, which Ash and I saw at the movies after dinner. Gruesome.

Xx

PS – I already know I’ll break my promise about boycotting the fish shop. The convenience unfortunately outweighs the attitude problem. Dammit.

PPS – I just put a piece of paper with “FSL” written on it in the freezer. Good trick that one. Or so I’m told!