Suan Cai Beurre Blanc

I wish I could say this is entirely my idea, but this originally came from a dish I had recently, when the chef prepared the seared threadfin fish with fermented cabbage, fish broth and chili oil, a dish said to be inspired by the Sichuan classic “Suan Cai Yu” (hot and sour fish with fermented vegetables 酸菜魚). Taking the cue, I decided to do my own version, switching the local threadfin fish with the pack of Patagonian Toothfish which I received from the online seafood purveyor Qwehli served with Beurre Blanc sauce made based on the traditional recipe with the addition of “suan cai” (fermented vegetables 酸菜) and fatty pork. 

It’s not that difficult to make your own Suan Cai at home, which typically involves Chinese mustard green, salt, rice water (leftover water from rinsing rice) and something heavy to weigh down the vegetables while it went through a slow curing and fermentation process (around 21 days depending on ambient temperature). But this time I got it at the local wet market – and if you do the same as I did, do look for those that’s called “Sweet” Suan Cai (甜酸菜), which was made with the addition of sugar and hence less salty and more suitable for cooking (as opposed to the Chiuchow style which is slightly saltier). I also saw the Chinese wax gourd, typically a summer vegetable, began to appear in the market so I used that as my side ingredient, which was good for plating and neutralize some of the strong flavors of the sauce. 

I made mine the non-spicy version but if you would like to throw some chili in at some point, let the chopped chilies steeped in the vinegar-wine sauce when you made the beurre blanc and strain them out before you put the butter in. 

Patagonian Toothfish with Suan Cai Beurre Blanc (serves 2)

Ingredients: 

Fish

• Patagonian Toothfish fillet x 2 (I used the individual portion pack from Qwehli which came in one 280g piece which I cut into two halves)
• Egg White from 1 egg
• 1/4 cup Japanese Panko
• 1 teaspoon butter
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Beurre Blanc

• 50g Fermented Chinese Mustard Green (Suan Cai)
• 50g guanciale (optional) 
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar 
• 2 tablespoon verjus (or the water from Suan Cai)
• 3/4 cup of butter (approx. 1.5 stick) – chilled and cut into small cubes (1cm) 
• Red Chili Powder

Sides and Garnishes

• 100g wax gourd – I used a baller to cut into marble-sized half spheres
• 1/4 cup of dashi
• Handful of fresh coriander/cilantro

Steps: 

1. Defrost the fish beforehand if it’s frozen. Pat dry with kitchen towel, remove any bone and marinate with salt. Set aside for 30 minutes. I left the fish skin on but if you prefer, you may remove the skin.

2. Meanwhile, cut both the fermented mustard green and guanciale (if using) into small dices (0.5cm). For the vegetables, I prefer the stalk part rather than the leaves to give the sauce a more consistent texture. 

3. In a small saucepan, bring the dashi to a boil and cook the wax gourd balls for 3 minutes to soften. Strain and set aside. 

4. Pre-heat the oven to 170C. 

5. Heat up a frying pan with butter over medium heat. Put the egg white and panko in 2 shallow bowls, dip the fish fillets skin-side into the egg white than the panko to coat the top. Place the fish fillets skin down on the pan and let it cook untouched for 2 minutes. Flip the fillets (so now it's skin side up), slide the whole pan (with the fish) into the oven and cook for 12-15 minutes until the meat is no longer translucent. 

6. At the same time, in a separate pan lightly coated with oil, sauteed the mustard green and guancile quickly, turn off the heat and set aside in a sauce bowl.

7. Using a saucepan, put white wine, vinegar and verjus in and heat up the mixture until just below boiling point. Turn down the stove to the lowest setting and let it simmer and reduce to around half the volume.  

8. With your hands ready (one to remove the saucepan from the stove regularly and one to hold the whisk), take the butter cubes from the refrigerator and whisk them in one by one with the saucepan removed from the heat source. Keep whisking rigorously while the butter cubes were put in to emulsify. Occasionally put the saucepan back to the heat to warm, but never put that to the point of boiling as this will separate the butter from the sauce. This process could take 15-20 minutes and it’s ready when all butter was incorporated into the sauce and the sauce was thickened and turned into a silky texture. Taste and season with salt and red chili powder.

9. When ready to serve, pour the beurre blanc sauce into the sauce bowl. Mix well with the Suan Cai and guanciale; lay the wax gourd balls on the plate, place the fish fillet skin-side up in the center, and spoon in the sauce with all the ingredients.  Garnish with fresh coriander either chopped or torn with hands.

Note: Some products used in this post are sponsored by Qwehli Hong Kong. Right now they also offer a discount if you order through this website: http://bit.ly/easterspring with the code "GARY21".