Recipe: Steamed California Halibut on Rice Pillow

STEAMED CALIFORNIA HALIBUT ON RICE PILLOW

1 pound California halibut fillets or steaks
1 (2-inch) piece fresh ginger, julienne cut
3 green onions, julienne cut
1 tablespoon soy sauce
4 tablespoons rice wine (sake)
2 cups cooked rice

Place fillets in a shallow dish, cover with green onion and ginger. Combine liquid ingredients and pour over fish. Marinate fish for 10 minutes.

TO STEAM FILLETS:**
Use a bamboo or metal steamer.* Set steamer rack over boiling water. Water should not touch the rack. Place fillets on a plate and set on the rack. Pour remaining marinade over fillets, cover and steam 10 minutes per inch thickness of fillets. (No need to turn fish during cooking.) Fish is done when flesh turns opaque and flakes easily with a fork

JUST BEFORE SERVING:
Pack a 1/2 cup measure with cooked rice and turn out on individual dinner plates. Gently flatten the mound with the back of a spoon to form a round pillow shape. Serve the steamed fish on the rice pillows, pouring some hot marinade liquid over each fillet. Garnish with a slice of lemon and an onion flower.

*Equipment Hint:
The bamboo steamer is favored over metal steamers because condensation does not form on the bamboo during steaming.

**STEAMED SERENDIPITY:
Steaming seafood is the first choice for many cooks, as they discover how moist and flavorful a steamed fish can be. As further reward, when you steam seafood you'll ring out the fat calories. Marinated in a light rice wine for just 10 minutes before cooking, the flavor and aroma of steamed California halibut is unparalleled. Steaming is the quintessential way to maximize the health and flavor benefits of this already healthy, tasty seafood. What's more, it is also a quick and easy way to prepare many varieties of the fresh, local California catch. (For a change, try this recipe with white seabass, albacore, lingcod, sablefish or the ubiquitous California rockfish.)

Makes 4 servings
Adapted from source: California Seafood Council