Poached Rainbow Trout

The same steeping method used for cooking Hainanese chicken works beautifully with whole fish, especially for poached rainbow trout or salmon. English food writer Jane Grigson recommends poaching pink fish in strong brine and that’s the method I’ve followed for years. Leaving the fish to cool in the poaching liquid keeps it moist and succulent and it works with fish of any size (using the below ratio of salt to water to make additional brine if needed) as the larger fish, and correspondingly larger quantity of water, take longer to cool so the fish is always cooked through by the time the water cools. Fish poached this way can be served with any flavourings you like, Asian or European. If I’m going down the Asian path, I add some Shaoxing to the poaching liquid and often serve it with sliced cucumber, rice with crisp fried garlic (see video below) and a little chilli sauce for a deliciously easy meal.

Serves 2

Ingredients

1 x 400g rainbow trout, gilled and gutted
4 litres water
355g cooking sea salt

Asian Accompaniments (optional)

½ cup Shaoxing rice wine
½ Lebanese cucumber, sliced into half moons
Ginger & Green Onion Sauce
Rice with Fried Garlic & Shallot
Chilli sauce such as sambal oelek or sambal goreng

Method

Wipe the skin of the trout with a clean cloth or paper towel to remove as much of the slime as possible then wipe out the belly cavity to remove any blood.
Place fish on a rack in a fish kettle or flameproof baking dish just large enough to hold it in a single layer and set aside for 30–60 minutes to come to room temperature.
Meanwhile combine water, salt and Shaoxing (if using) and stir to dissolve salt. Set aside.
Pour salt water over the fish and cover with lid or tightly with foil.
Place over medium–high heat and bring to the boil (this should take about 15 minutes).
As soon as the water begins to bubble, turn off the heat, uncover and leave the fish to cool in the liquid (for about 1 hour). If any of the fish is protruding above the water, carefully turn it over after about 20 minutes.
When cool, remove fish from liquid and carefully remove the skin, then gently scrape off any dark flesh from just below the skin.
Carefully turn over and repeat on the other side, leaving head and tail intact.
Place on a platter and serve with rice, cucumber, Ginger & Green Onion Sauce, and chilli if you like.