Poached fish with seaweed, ginger & spring onions

Spring

This fragrant seaweed broth, gently spiced with garlic, chilli and ginger, would make a light, cleansing meal in its own right. But, I think, carefully poaching a piece of fresh, white fish in the broth, as it gently simmers away, turns the tables completely. Don’t let the broth boil too hard, the most delicate of tremulous simmers is all that’s required to cook the fish through. You can check that the fish is done by lifting a piece out with a fork to see whether the white flakes separate.

Serves 2

Ingredients

5g (⅛oz) dried wakame seaweed
2 tablespoons sunflower seeds
3 tablespoons tamari or soy sauce
300ml (10½fl oz) fish stock
¼ small red chilli, deseeded and thinly sliced
a few slices of ginger root
1 garlic clove, bashed, skin on
4 small spring onions, thinly sliced on an angle
2 x 50g (2oz) white fish fillets (such as bass, bream or sole), skin on
salt

Method

Soak the seaweed in cold water according to the packet instructions. It will grow in volume tenfold. When it’s ready, drain and set aside.

Heat a small pan over a medium heat. Toss the sunflower seeds in 1 tablespoon of the tamari or soy sauce and add them to the pan. Toast until they are dry and fragrant, and are nutty in colour – about 2–4 minutes – then remove from the heat and set aside.

Pour the fish stock into a large pan, add the chilli, ginger and garlic and place over a medium heat. Bring to a simmer, reduce the heat to low and cook very gently for 10 minutes to allow the flavours to infuse.

Pour the stock through a sieve into a clean, small pan set over a medium heat. Add the soaked seaweed, the remaining tamari or soy sauce and the spring onions and bring to a simmer. Season the fish lightly with salt, then nestle each piece into the simmering broth, skin-side up. The liquid should just cover the fish. Poach the fish in the broth for 3–4 minutes, or until the fish is just cooked through.

Taste the broth and adjust the seasoning if you need to with more tamari or a little salt. Divide the fish and broth equally between two warm bowls, scatter over the toasted seeds and serve at once.

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