Fishing season is exciting to me, not because I have any talent whatsoever at the sport itself, but because it allows me to expand my repertoire of recipes highlighting the local bounty caught by those much more competent than I. Enter Daryl Pederson, whose famous 54-inch monster lingcod made the news last week. When the stars aligned and a friend of a friend brought Daryl over to my house for an eight-course wine dinner, Daryl reciprocated in kind by offering some of his Prince William Sound prize.
I've had memorable lingcod dishes in restaurants, notably at Suzanne Goin's The Hungry Cat in California, where the fish was paired with spicy fresh sausage, but I have never cooked lingcod myself. So when Daryl handed me a vacuum-sealed packet of two plump, gorgeous filets and some cheeks, I thanked him profusely and naively asked if I should go ahead and put the packet in the freezer. (I had already started cooking dinner and prepping another one for the next evening's guests.) Daryl looked at me with alarm and directed me to absolutely not put it in the freezer. "It retains too much water," he warned. "Enjoy it fresh … as soon as possible. It absorbs flavor like you wouldn't believe." I decided immediately to change up the following evening's menu.
While doing some recipe research on the way to best honor the fisherman and his famous lingcod, I thought about Goin's dish and how well it paired with sausage, and also remembered a recipe by Maui-based chef, Tylun Pang.
What Pang does brilliantly at his restaurant, Ko, at the Fairmont Kea Lani is bring the flavors of diverse cultures -- he's lived and traveled in Tokyo, South Korea, Hong Kong and South America -- to the table with ingredients indigenous to Hawaii. Every time I visit him, he always shares his local treasures and teaches me how his recipes can easily incorporate our fresh Alaska seafood. On a recent visit, chef Pang showed me a simple, flavorful family recipe for steamed fish with Chinese sausage, ginger and herbs that allows the fish to be the star. Drizzling hot sesame oil over the ginger and herbs really makes the dish special; the sizzle adds a fragrant touch just before serving.
Steamed Alaska lingcod with ginger, herbs, and sizzling sesame oil
This recipe is adapted from chef Tylun Pang of Ko Restaurant in Maui. Pang uses local opaka paka, Hawaiian pink snapper. Substitute lingcod, Pacific (Alaska) cod, halibut or even scallops. In Hawaii, banana leaves are prevalent. If you can't find them at your local market, line a heatproof dish with lettuce leaves, kale or cabbage, and place the dish directly in the steamer basket. Or use aluminum foil in place of the leaves. Chinese sausage, also known as lop chong, is a dried, hard sausage with a hint of sweetness; look for it in the Asian section of your local market.
Makes 4 servings
1. Cut banana leaves into pieces large enough to hold one filet, leaving a minimum 2-inch border all around. If using aluminum foil, do the same as with the leaves. If using lettuce or other leafy vegetable, line a large steamer or bamboo basket with the leaves. Alternatively, place the leaves directly in a heatproof serving dish or plate. Place a filet in each leaf or piece of foil and season with salt.
2. Divide evenly the sausage slices, ginger and vegetables over each filet. Gently wrap each filet and enclose or tie to seal loosely. Fill a large pot (a wok or large Dutch oven) with about three inches of water. Ideally, try to find a pot the size of your bamboo steamer baskets so they fit snugly right on top or just in the water.
3. Bring water to a boil. Place fish packets (or fish in heatproof dishes) in the steamer/basket. Cover the steamer/basket tightly with lid or foil and place over or in the pot of boiling water; the bottom of the fish shouldn't touch the water. Steam the fish, checking once to make sure there's enough water, 7 to 9 minutes or until fish is just cooked through. Be careful not to overcook the fish.
4. Carefully remove the fish packets (or heatproof dishes) and place on serving plates; snip open packets with scissors if too hot to handle. Top each filet with green onions, cilantro and soy sauce. Heat sesame oil in a small pan over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking. Using a spoon, gently drizzle hot oil over each piece of fish; it will sizzle slightly. Serve, if desired, with steamed rice, hot sauce and toasted sesame seeds.
Kim Sunée ate and lived in Europe for 10 years before working as a food editor for Southern Living magazine and Cottage Living magazine. Her writing has appeared in Food & Wine, The Oxford American and Asian American Poetry and Writing. Sunée has appeared several times as a guest judge on the Food Network's "Iron Chef America." She is currently based in Anchorage. Her cookbook, "A Mouthful of Stars," published by Andrews McMeel, was released in spring 2014. For more recipes by chef Tylun Pang and notes on where to eat and sleep in Maui, check out kimsunee.com.