Rock Cod with Salted Olives (Haam4 Gaam3 Laam5 Sek6 Baan1, 鹹橄欖石斑)

Any firm fleshed fish will work for this dish, and you can either buy fillets or fillet the fish yourself. In this case a rock cod (sek⁶ baan¹, 石斑) tail was available at the Asian market. Instead of using salted black beans (dau⁶ si⁶, 豆豉), I used salted olives (haam⁴ gaam³ laam⁵, 鹹橄欖), which gives the dish a different flavor. You need to chop and soak the salted olives before using them (but don’t soak for too long or you’ll lose the salted olive flavor).

Enjoy!

Fish Marinade Ingredients

½-¾ lbs. Rock Cod (sek⁶ baan¹, 石斑) fillet or any firm fleshed fish

½ inch knob of Ginger , (goeng¹, 薑),  crushed

1 tsp. (or to taste) White Pepper (baak⁶ wu⁴ ziu¹, 白胡椒)

½ Tbs. Corn Starch (suk¹ fan², 粟粉)

½ Tbs. Shaoxing Rice Wine (siu⁶ hing¹ zau², 紹興酒) or Dry Sherry

1 tsp. Sesame Oil (maa⁴ jau⁴, 麻油)

Salted Olive Ingredients

1 Tbs. Salted Olives (haam⁴ gaam³ laam⁵, 鹹橄欖), chopped into small pieces or salted black beans (dau⁶ si⁶, 豆豉)

Sauce Ingredients

1 Tbs. Soy Sauce

1 Tbs. Soy Paste or Thick Soy Sauce (zeong³ jau⁴ gou¹, 醬油膏) (see notes)

1 Tbs. Shaoxing Rice Wine or Dry Sherry

1 tsp (or to taste) ground Black Pepper (hak¹ ziu¹, 黑椒)

1 tsp. Sesame Oil

Other Ingredients

3-4 stalks Baby Bok Choy (siu² baak⁶ coi³, 小白菜)

1 small Red Bell Pepper (ceng¹ ziu¹, 青椒) cut into 1 inch pieces

Oil for cooking

Fish Preparation Instructions

1. Marinate the fish for 1 hour using the crushed ginger, white pepper, corn starch, Shaoxing Rice Wine, and sesame oil.
2. Chop the salted olives into small pieces, put them into a heat proof bowl, and cover with boiling water. Allow to hydrate for 1 hour.

Sauce Preparation Instructions

1. Put the soy sauce, soy paste or thick soy sauce, Shaoxing Rice Wine, black pepper, and sesame oil into a small bowl and mix together.

Other Preparation Instructions       

1. Remove the salted olives from the soaking liquid.  Keep the soaking liquid for later use in the sauce.
2. Wash and quarter the baby bok choy. Set the bok choy aside.
3. Wash and slice the red bell pepper into 1 inch pieces. Set the bell pepper aside.

Cooking Instructions

1. Heat the wok or pan over high heat before adding oil.
2. Stir fry the fish briefly and set aside.
3. Reheat the wok over high heat, add more oil, and then add the salted olives to the wok. Stir fry briefly.
4. Add the baby bok choy to the wok and stir fry.
5. Add the red bell pepper to the wok and stir fry.
6. Add the fish back into the wok and stir fry the ingredients together.
7. Add the sauce to the wok.
8. Add the olive soaking liquid to the wok and combine the ingredients together. Add more or less of the olive soaking liquid to produce the desired amount of liquid in the sauce. The soaking liquid is salty, so don’t add too much.
9. Put the cooked ingredients into a serving dish.
10. Serve with steamed rice.

Notes

1. Soy Paste is bottled by Kimlan. Thick soy sauce is darker and thicker than regular soy sauce due to the addition of molasses. Regular soy sauce can also be used if soy paste or thick soy sauce is not available.