What is it with the market on Monday afternoons? I ran into fellow restaurateurs Tom and Joy Frerotte from Chop Stick Cafe and Frank d'Alessio from Winchester City Bagel. After chatting with them, I wandered out with banana leaves, lemongrass, and baby Shanghai bok choy as well as the fish.
The beast in question with all the aromatics: some very ratty cilantro from last week's cellophane noodle salad, lemongrass, ginger, and garlic.
Vertical slashes along the sides hold ginger and garlic slivers; the cavity is stuffed with cilantro stems (more flavorful than the leaves) and lemongrass. Lots of minced lemongrass, garlic, and ginger that will make a slurry with olive oil, salt, and pepper to rub over the sides of the fish.
Sushi rice on a banana leaf with more lemongrass stalks and the bouquet garni (mostly buried in the rice) of cilantro stems, ginger, and lemongrass that I cooked the rice with.
The before shot of the fish (tail removed) and bok choy piled around.
All wrapped up and ready for 40 minutes in a 425F oven. I prefer to use string rather than strips of banana leaf: string is much easier to tie. The packet does not have to be hermetically sealed; it just needs to contain enough moisture and steam to cook the fish. Small gaps here and there are OK. Note: you'll need more than one set of hands to tie the packet. Thanks, honey!
And the after shot. I just loved the rice all flavored with the aromatics and the juices from the fish.
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