Want a healthy, delicious meal in under thirty minutes? This puts the entree and the side in one oven for a great meal 20 minutes later.
We first encountered this fish dish when a friend named Fanny made it for us, but using a whole snapper. We’ve always enjoyed the flounder at Hop Kee so we decided to order a whole flounder from Fresh Direct (can’t say any more good things about their fish and seafood section). I like this dish because of its simple yet distinct flavors and relatively simple preparation. Along with choy sum (chinese brocolli), it’s a perfect combination of light protein and greens.
Pre-heat the oven to 400C. Begin by cutting through the meat of the flounder twice with a knife. Don’t go all the way through! Salt the flounder on both sides and drizzling some olive oil on top. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes.
While the flounder is baking, cut and arrange choy sum (Chinese broccoli) in a baking dish
and drizzle with some olive oil.
and drizzle with some olive oil.
Cover securely with aluminum foil. This will create the steam that will cook your choy sum.
Put the choy sum alongside the flounder and retrieve both when the flounder is done.
While both are baking, cut some ginger into very this strips.
Saute ginger in olive oil and drizzle with a little soy sauce and sesame oil.
Ginger should turn into a crisp brown.
The flounder is done in 20 minutes or when the meat is opaque but still moist and slightly gelatinous.
Pour the ginger mixture on top of the flounder.
Take the choy sum out.
Voila! If you think this looks pretty, wait till you smell it.
Serve with the choy sum for a fragrant, sumptuous and healthy meal!
Served here with a dollop of bukkake okazu rayu or chili garlic oil for the choy sum. One may substitute oyster sauce or soy sauce for dipping, or simply eat the choy sum on its own.
The flounder goes really well with the sweetness of the choy sum when it’s steamed in its own juice.
I love chili garlic oil, especially this one that our friends graciously shared with us from Tokyo.
It’s different from the Chinese version (I favor Lee Kum Kee’s chili oil) in that it is much more flavorful and has bits of fried garlic that miraculously stay crispy in the oil. A must-have if it’s available to you. Left to my own devices, I could drink this bottle straight up!
