Fish Baked in Foil

What types of food do you eat at home? Do you have sushi and sashimi everyday? Do you eat all your dishes cold?

These were some of the common questions that I was asked as a little Japanese girl living in South East Asia (this was before Japanese cuisine became popular worldwide). When I was asked these questions, my usual reply would be 'lots of cooked fish, rice and miso soup'. My answer to these questions would usually disappoint my friends. While I could not understand what was so bad about my reply back then, I certainly can now. That reply just sounds so unappealing, and boring! I probably gave a poor representation of home-cooked Japanese meals.

 A standard Japanese meal actually includes a bowl of steamed rice, miso soup and three side dishes. These side dishes are may include fish, meats, vegetable, salads and tofu. They are usually pretty small in portion size, and serves as an accompaniment to the steamed rice. Sometimes, noodles (soba, udon, somen, ramen) and donburi are served as an alternative to the standard meal. 

Have you ever wondered if the foods that your parents fed you as a kid actually influences your dietary preferences when you are an adult? Well, in my case, it clearly does. In my family, fish is almost always served as one of the side dishes, and because of that, it is one of those foods that I need to have on a regular basis. Some time back, I was on a vegetarian diet for 3 months, but I finally succumbed to my craving for FISH!

And this was the first fish dish that I cooked for myself after my short stint as a vegetarian; it is also my favourite way of cooking fish (I cooked it again last night). The boyfriend often requests for this too! It is so simple and most importantly fail-proof. All you have to do is to wrap and bake the fish with vegetables and mushrooms in an aluminium foil sheet. The foil seals off the natural sweetness of the ingredients, and the fish will remain moist.

Fish Baked in Foil 

Adapted from one of my Mom's Japanese Cookbooks
Serves 1

Ingredients
1 sheets 30x20cm aluminium foil
200g cod fillet/salmon/sea beam
1/2 tbsp unsalted butter (I used dairy free spread)
1 tbsp sake (Japanese cooking wine)
1 slice of lemon & 1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 carrot, thinly sliced
1/2 green pepper, stripped
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
75g enoki mushroom (I used cup mushrooms yesterday)
Salt & Pepper


Directions

1. Preheat oven to 200C.
2. Spread aluminum foil and place half the portion of butter in the center of the foil.
3. Place the fish on the foil, sprinkle salt and pepper.
4. Place cut carrots, green pepper, onion and enoki mushroom on the fish.
5. Sprinkle lemon juice and sake on the fish.
6. Place remaining butter on the fish.
7. Fold the far ends of the foil to wrap the ingredients. Bend the 4 corners of the foil so that liquid does not seep out.
8. Place the oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes.
9. Remove from oven. Serve. Enjoy!