Recipe - Asian Fish Packets (Le Colonial)

Three fourths cup Coconut milk, light
2 tablespoon Fresh ginger root, minced
1 tablespoon Sugar
1 tablespoon Lime juice
1 teaspoon Fish sauce, Asian
Three fourths teaspoon Salt
24 ounce Sea bass fillets, or grouper
(remove skin; one fillet
per serving)
4 teaspoon Mint leaves, minced

The fillets should be the same thickness so they cook in the same amount of
time. The packets can be prepared several hours ahead and refrigerated
until ready to cook.

Combine coconut milk, ginger, sugar, lime juice, fish sauce and salt in
small dish.

Center each fillet on aluminum foil and bring up sides of foil close to
edges of each fillet. Top each fillet with 3 tablespoons coconut milk
mixture and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon mint. Fold together edges of foil to
make 4 airtight packets.

Place packets in single layer on baking sheet. Bake at 450 degrees until
fish is cooked through, about 18 minutes for 1inchthick fillets. Serve
hot, at room temperature or chilled.

4 servings. Each serving: 252 calories; 595 mg sodium; 109 mg cholesterol;
14 grams fat; 7 grams carbohydrates; 25 grams protein; 1.21 grams fiber. MC
210 calories, 5.9 g fat (25.8%cff)

Tip Called nam pla in Thai, nuoc mam in Vietnamese, petis in Filipino
and tuk trey in Cambodian, fish sauce is the salt brine in which fish have
been pickled. It has a loud fishy aroma and, in small quantities, it gives
an indispensable authentic flavor to many Southeast Asian dishes. You can
find fish sauce at Asian grocery stores and sometimes in the Asian sections
of supermarkets. AM

GOOD COOKING: An Asian Meal for All Seasons. ** MENU * ASIAN FISH PACKETS *
THIN NOODLES WITH CARROTS, GREEN ONIONS AND CILANTRO * ORANGE CAKE WITH
ORANGE SYRUP ** I've adapted these recipes for grouper in coconut milk and
noodles with carrots from some dishes I tried at LE COLONIAL, A SMALL
INDOCHINESE RESTAURANT IN ST. BARTH'S IN THE FRENCH WEST INDIES. ** This is
a most appealing, upbeat meal. And although I like these dishes served hot,
they are also good served at room temperature or chilled in hot weather.
Snow peas make an excellent addition to the plate. ** A warm orange cake
served with warm orange syrup from Maya's, a restaurant perched right on
the water's edge, is a delicious finish for the meal. For a more festive
appearance, serve cut or sliced up , sugared strawberries or raspberries on the side.
** Mandel is a cookbook author. Her latest book is "Celebrating the
Midwestern Table" (Doubleday & Co., 1996).

Posted on McRecipe by Pat Hanneman (phannema@wizard.ucr.edu) | MC 3

Recipe by: ABBY MANDEL, April 30, 1997 Posted to MCRecipe Digest V1 #649
by Kitchen PATh phannema@wizard.ucr.edu on Jun 26, 1997