Haddock (schelvis in Dutch) is the lesser cousin of cod, but that doesn’t mean you can’t prepare a nice dish with it. Still inspired by our Taiwan trip, I decided to pan fry it and serve it with Asian flavors. It was very nice and this preparation could be used for any type of white fish. Here’s what I did…

Ingredients

For 2 servings

skinless fillets of 1 haddock, about 300 grams (.66 lb) net weight

1 Tbsp minced garlic

1 Tbsp minced ginger

1/2 Tbsp minced red chilli

2 scallions (green onions), thinly sliced

2 Tbsp shaoxing (Chinese rice wine)

2 Tbsp light soy sauce

2 Tbsp cooking oil (I used peanut)

salt and freshly ground white pepper

flour for dusting

Preparation

Prep all the ingredients. Reserve some of the green part of the scallions for garnish.

Season the haddock fillets on both sides with salt and freshly ground white pepper.

Dust them with flour, shaking off excess.

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a frying pan. You could use a non-stick pan, but I prefer a carbon steel pan that has been seasoned. Its non-stick properties are as good as a new non-stick pan, but they are much more durable. Heat the pan first and then add the oil. As soon as the oil starts to smoke, add the fish.

Cook the fish until golden and just cooked through, about 3 minutes per side (depending on thickness).

Carefully lift the fish out of the pan with wide spatulas onto a preheated serving plate.

Add the scallions, chilli, and ginger to the pan.

Stir for a minute or 2 over medium-high heat, then add the garlic and stir for another 30 seconds. Do not allow the garlic to burn.

Mix 2 tablespoons each of light soy sauce and shaoxing in a small bowl, and deglaze the pan with this mixture.

Stir until reduced by half and the alcohol has burned off, then turn off the heat.

Spoon the sauce over the fish, and garnish with the reserved scallions. Serve at once.

Flashback

Bacon-wrapped turkey is so simple that it is hardly a recipe. To make it sound better, I’m calling these medallions. That just means pieces of turkey breast. The most important thing is that they are delicious. Turkey breast is lean meat that is high in protein, which is nutritious but can be a bit bland. The bacon fixes that.