Feast of the Seven Fishes - Seafood lovers.

Here is my dependable Chinese contact fried fish dish my mom taught me. Mom would have poached a whole carp. I have used the method for everything from whole salmon trouts to tilapia fillets. If cooking whole fish, poach in acidulated water until done. If using fillets, just microwave.

For 4 people finely julienne a piece of ginger the size of a man’s thumb. Slice finely against the grain first before julienning or throwing into the food processor to chop to prevent hairy hrad to chew masses. Finely dice green onion diagonally into the shape known as horse ears. This can be done in advance a few hours and set aside in a deep bowl with the ginger on the bottom to oxidation.

When you are ready to eat cook the fish until done in the microwave or by poaching or steaming. Spread the ginger and green onion over the fish in a serving dish with a lip. Season with a few large glugs of soy sauce, some Chinese rice wine, saki or dry sherry, a good pinch of sugar, a squeeze of lemon or a glug of vinegar and bring to the table.

In the meantime heat a quarter cup of vegetable oil as hot as you dare, near smoking point. Use your eyes and nose. You can smell an oily smoky smell and the air above the saucepan starts to shiver. Pour hot oil over the fish and herbs to blend the flavours. There will be dramatic sizzling
noises.

This is both easy and impressive enough for a dinner party. It won’t show if you accidentally break the fish. Seasoning mixture on the herbs is to taste but my mom says it should be salty, acidic, slightly sweet and alcoholic.

My Dutch husband has never heard of a tradition of serving herring on NYE but he is not from a coastal town where they fish for herring. He says there is a lot of rip and roar in villages that fish for herring on "Vlaggetjes Dag" when boats are allowed to bring in a new catch of herring 22 June. The season for fishing is regulated so as to not interfere with the breeding season, so a large part of the year only the old catch preserved in brine is sold.

Do you manage to get proper Dutch brined herring in NYC, or do you have to make to do with German pickled herring? Since moving to London we find that the Polish herring that is salted and and stored in oil is closer to Dutch brined herring than the German stuff. Not close enough to eat plain or in a sandwich but a close enough to substitute in a Dutch herring salad with beets, potato, gherkins, apple and onion.

We can buy Dutch brined herring in London by mail order at exorbitant prices, a factor 10 of what it costs in Amsterdam.

R

Arg.