The delicate Japanese flavours in this dish are a great match for the firm, white flesh of the Rockcod. Soba is the Japanese name for buckwheat, and these versatile buckwheat noodles are served either in a hot broth as soup or chilled with a dipping sauce.
INGREDIENTS:
⅓ cup sake
⅓ cup Japanese soy sauce
1 tablespoon fish sauce
2 teaspoons sesame oil
6 x 150g pieces Bar Rockcod fillet, skin off, bones removed
2 sheets toasted nori (see notes)
3 green onions
¼ cup Japanese pink pickled ginger, sliced
250g dried soba noodles
2 carrots, cut into fine matchsticks
200g snow peas, cut into fine matchsticks
1 tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted (see notes)
METHOD:
Combine sake, soy sauce, fish sauce and sesame oil, add fish and set aside to marinate for 10-15 minutes, turning once. Drain, reserving marinade.
Cut each nori sheet into 3 and lay each piece of fish across the centre of a strip of nori. Cut green onions to the same length as fish and lay 2 or 3 strips of green onions and pickled ginger down the centre of each piece of fish. Lightly brush exposed nori with marinade and fold nori over fish towards the centre, pressing gently to seal (fish and green onions will be visible at either end).
Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil.
Half fill a wok or large saucepan with water and bring to the boil. Place a plate in a steamer basket, or line with baking paper. Arrange the fish parcels in the steamer. Place steamer over wok or saucepan, cover and steam for 2 minutes. Then place carrots and snow peas in a second steamer on top of the first steamer and cook for a further 2-3 minutes, until the fish is opaque and flesh flakes easily when tested with a fork.
Meanwhile, cook noodles in saucepan of boiling salted water according to packet directions.
Drain water from wok, add marinade to wok and cook for a minute or 2. Add noodles and sesame seeds and toss to combine.
Serve noodles topped with carrots, snow peas and fish.
NOTES:
Nori is dried seaweed; it’s usually sold toasted (yaki-nori) in packs of 10 sheets in Asian grocery stores and some supermarkets.
Toast sesame seeds in a dry frying pan for a couple of minutes, tossing gently to prevent them burning, or under a griller (but watch them closely).
ALTERNATIVE SPECIES:
Other Rockcods, Ocean Trout, Salmon, Snapper.