Sweet and Tangy Arctic Char

STORY

Last night after a day of wandering through Manhattan, Sean and I were hungry. We stopped at Eatly, a glorious (yet crowded) Italian-styled marketplace, full of restaurants, and lovely stalls spilling over with meats, cheese, bread, vegetables, and fish. I found a piece of Arctic char and since I wanted to try a recipe that was featured on Bill’s Food. Just because the char came from an Italian food market didn’t mean that it needed to be cooked in an Italian style!

So, I changed up Bill’s Thai-inspired recipe bit to feature vegetables I had on hand: ramps (!!) and pretty purple spring onions. I also adjusted the seasoning so that it was a bit more tangy and a little less sweet. Oh, the results were spectacular. And best of all, this meal took less than 30 minutes to make (really about ~20).

Think about it, in less time than it takes to order take out, you’ll have dinner. You should make this today!

RECIPE

• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Cook Time: 15 minutes
• Total Time: 20 minutes

TOOLS

• 1 chef’s knife
• 1 paring knife
• 3 quart pan
• 1 set of tongs
• 1 plate
• 1 medium sized pot

INGREDIENTS

1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 lb of fish, cubed (I used Arctic char – but any fish that is flaky will do)
1/8 tsp fresh black pepper
1 bunch of ramps, chopped
1 bunch of spring onions, chopped (if you don’t have ramps or spring onions, feel free to substitute one medium sized onion and 1 clove of garlic)
1 sliced small red chili pepper (I used a Serrano pepper)
2 tbsp Demerara sugar or palm sugar
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp fish sauce
1 tsp of lime juice
1 tbsp chopped cilantro
1handful of soba noodles

METHOD

1. Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil over medium-high heat.
2. Sprinkle fish cubes with black pepper and place in the hot oil, and sear on each side (cook for about 2-3 minutes).
3. Remove fish from heat, and add chopped ramps, and sliced spring onions to the pan and cook until spring onions are translucent.
4. While vegetables are cooking, heat a medium sized pot of boiling water and bring to a boil.
5. Add 1 sliced small red chili pepper (I used a Serrano pepper) and cook for about 1 minute.
6. Stir in 2 tbsp Demerara sugar or palm sugar, 2 tbsp soy sauce, and 2 tbsp fish sauce to the vegetables and bring to a boil.
7. While vegetables are cooking, add soba noodles to the boiling water and boil for ~5 minutes.
8. While soba noodles are cooking, lower vegetables to a simmer and add fish back to the pan.
9. Coat the fish with the sauce and vegetables and cook for about ~3 minutes (coating fish continually).
10. Drain soba noodles and set in a bowl.
11. Add 1 tbsp of lime juice to the fish and stir in one tbsp of chopped cilantro.
12. Pour warm fish and vegetables over the soba noodles, and eat.

Photo Credit: Sean