Crisp Red-Cooked Bass Fillets (Page 293)

RECIPE #1086

• Date: Thursday, January 21, 2010 -- 7pm
• Location: Berkeley, CA
• Kitchen: Our Temporary California Home
• Dining Companions: Matty and Josh G
• Recipe Rating: B+
  

This recipe was part of my All Fish All The Time plan for when I am visiting California this semester. I started by whisking together soy sauce, medium-dry sherry, fresh ginger, sugar, cornstarch, crushed anise seeds, cinnamon, and water in a saucepan and simmering for a few minutes. Then I rubbed some sea bass fillets with cornstarch and put them skin side down in a skillet of hot oil. After a few minutes I turned them over, and poured the sauce through a sieve into the skillet. I simmered the fish in the sauce until it was cooked through. I removed the fish, simmered the sauce until thickened, and served the fish topped with the sauce and green onions. This dish was pretty good. I liked the Asian-inspired flavors of the sauce and I thought they went nicely with the fish. The sauce could have used even more ginger, anise, and cinnamon though. As it was those flavors were slightly overpowered by the soy sauce. This was a simple dish that made for a nice weeknight dinner -- I served it with rice and broccoli and it was a healthy and tasty meal.

The recipe is here.

It feels good to be back in Indiana! Today I went into my office. After nearly 6 weeks away I hardly remembered what state I had left my office in. But I was greeted by huge stacks of business calculus exams on my desk, papers everywhere with lists of students taking the alternate exam, or the extra time exam for students with learning disabilities. My chalkboard was covered with problems on future and present value of an income stream. And much to my surprise there was a Christmas card under my door from one of my students! I took it all in for a minute, and then I packed it all up (except the Christmas card which I left out on my desk!). I filed away the exams and the grade sheets, the answer keys and the old quizzes. I took a whole semester of business calculus and put it into my filing cabinet. And then I just sat in my chair and did a few spins. Putting away all those lecture notes and quizzes and exams, I couldn't help but realize that it had been a lot of work having 330 students last semester! And now I have a semester with no students. It felt good to replace those stacks of exams with stacks of work for various research projects I am working on. I love to teach, and in a way I miss my 330 students, but I am very much enjoying having a few months with more time to work on my research!