Steamed cod with Asian mushrooms, tofu, wakame & sesame

By: Daniel Wilson
From: Huxtabook
Serves: 4 as part of a shared meal
Photographer: Chris Middleton

Blue cod is a wonderful fish, with its sweet flavour and firmly textured white flesh. Steaming really preserves the flavour and is very healthy too. The mushrooms and tofu add ‘umami’, while the wakame and sesame contribute a natural seasoning and a nutty taste and aroma.

Ingredients

Quantity	Ingredient
500g	blue cod fillets, skin on, pin boned
1 quantity	Wakame & sesame salt
	red seaweed, to garnish (optional)

Asian mushrooms

Quantity	Ingredient
100ml	vegetable oil
2	red asian shallots, sliced
2cm	knob fresh ginger, peeled and julienned
150g	shiitake mushrooms, stems removed, caps thinly sliced
150g	oyster mushrooms, stems removed
150g	shimeji mushrooms, trimmed
150g	enoki mushrooms, trimmed
100ml	Dashi stock
200g	firm tofu, cut into 16 cubes

Method

For the Asian mushrooms

Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the shallot and ginger and sweat for 2 minutes, or until translucent. Add the shiitake and oyster mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes.
Add the shimeji and enoki mushrooms and cook for another 5 minutes, then stir in the dashi and turn the heat down to low. Once the liquid starts to become a little thick, turn off the heat.
Gently stir the tofu through, being careful not to break it up.
To steam the cod

Fill a steamer with water, bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to low.
Cut a sheet of baking paper to go underneath the cod. Season both sides of the cod with sea salt, then place the cod on the baking paper, skin side up. Place in the steamer and cook for 10–12 minutes, or until firm and cooked through.
To serve

Reheat the mushrooms so they are hot. Check the seasoning: if they are too salty, just add a little water. Spoon the mushrooms onto a wide plate that has a lip on it.
Remove the cod from the steamer and use a spatula to place it on top of the mushrooms. Sprinkle generously with the wakame and sesame salt, garnish with seaweed if desired and serve.