One of my English conversation students has a Japanese cooking class once a month that I attend. While the price is a bit steep at ¥2,000 ($20), it includes all the cooking materials and generally covers 4-6 recipes. Last month was simmered righteyed-flounder (karei) with maki and other Japanese yummies (including buns, which I can no longer eat).
The recipe we used calls for burdock root (gobo), which is hard to find outside of Japan, and sugar, which I can't really eat. So this is my low-sugar compromise and alcohol-free modification, which turned out amazing, much to my own surprise!
Delicious, healthy foods with few ingredients and simple preparation are honestly the best thing after a long day of work. Don't be fooled by the lack of a billion sauces. The flounder has a complicated flavor that sometimes hints at butter. And don't be shy about eating the fat on this fish; it melts in your mouth, and I am NOT a person who normally likes fat, even in sushi or other delicacies.
Simmered Flounder
4 medium sized flounder steak cuts with skin
1 cup of water
1/4 cup lite soy sauce
3 tsp. sugar
1 inch piece of ginger, cut into thin slices
1 sheet on aluminum foil
fresh or reconstituted dried shiitake mushrooms (optional)
small bundles of green leafy veggies such as choy sum, spinach, etc. (optional)
finely shredded ginger and Japanese ginger (myoga) to garnish
Combine the water, soy sauce, sugar, and ginger in a large pot. Bring to a boil.
Gently put the flounder steaks into the liquid, cover with both aluminum foil and top and reduce to a simmer for 12 minutes.
Add the optional mushrooms or veggies for the last two minutes. Don't cook for too long or they will absorb too much salt and become gross.
Remove top and foil and gently remove flounder steaks with a wide, flat spatula. Take care not to break them as they are now extremely tender and flaky. Remove veggies too!
Spoon a little liquid over each steak and serve with shredded ginger and myoga.
Even though this recipe has sugar, I cut the original amount in half and you don't exactly drink the sauce, so you're only ingesting a bit of it. Feel free to try Stevia, but make sure to tell me how it goes!
Gently put the flounder steaks into the liquid, cover with both aluminum foil and top and reduce to a simmer for 12 minutes.
Add the optional mushrooms or veggies for the last two minutes. Don't cook for too long or they will absorb too much salt and become gross.
Remove top and foil and gently remove flounder steaks with a wide, flat spatula. Take care not to break them as they are now extremely tender and flaky. Remove veggies too!
Spoon a little liquid over each steak and serve with shredded ginger and myoga.
Even though this recipe has sugar, I cut the original amount in half and you don't exactly drink the sauce, so you're only ingesting a bit of it. Feel free to try Stevia, but make sure to tell me how it goes!
yuuummmmm, sounds fabulous! I will have to try soon, before I give away all my cookware!
ReplyDeleteHi! I found your blog through Elizabeth's facebook. I was on the candida diet for a while, and I found some things that you have not mentioned in your blog but that you probably know about. I figured though that I would write them on the offchance that you did not know.
ReplyDeleteXylitol is sweet, but not processed the way that sugar is so it doesn't spike your glycemic index. It has 2/3 the calories of sugar, and I always used it as a substitute for sugar in recipes because stevia was too difficult to measure correctly for me.
Wasa makes rye crisps (crackers) that have no yeast or sugar in them. Obviously they're whole grains so, ya know.
Also if you're doing whole grains in the future, you can get whole grain pastry flour from some health food stores. Again, whole grain, but I've made some pretty mean cookies with that and xylitol before.
I'm actually getting back on the diet (lifestyle change) this week so thank you for your blog! It is very helpful to see someone make such yummy looking meals.
-Sarah
So glad you enjoy the blog! I live in Japan right now so whole grains are hard to find here, but I bet I could find Xylitol if I asked (because I see Xylitol gum here all over the place).
ReplyDeleteGood luck with the lifestyle change!!