Ginger and Scallion Basa Fish

Lately i've been seeing "basa fish" on menus, and really didn't have much idea of what kind of fish it was. I'm a little picky when it comes to fish, so i hadn't ordered it before, but recently i was online and saw a recipe for a ginger scallion fish dish. The sauce ingredients really appealed to me - soy, oyster sauce, corn starch, sugar, sesame oil and salt and pepper. I had never cooked with corn starch before, so i bought some.

It turns out, via my research that basa is a Vietnamese catfish. It actually reminded me a little of talapia, but it was a more meaty. I ended up going to my larger Loblaws thinking they would have it, but the teenaged boy behind the counter looked at me like i had seven heads! I did find some in the frozen section, and although it did involve me buying more fillets than i intended considering i didn't know if i'd like it, i bought it anyway.

This turned out to be a super easy very tasty recipe. You were supposed to serve it with rice, but in my tradition of ruining pots with burnt rice, i burned it. I had purchased some brown basmati, which takes 50 minutes to make - well somehow the rice was burnt to a crisp in 30 minutes. I don't know... Even riceless i would make this dish again!

Ginger and Scallion Basa Fish

10 oz basa fish cut into pieces
2 inch ginger, peeled and cut into thin slices
2 stalks scallion (they recommended 2 inch pieces, i would cut them smaller)
Oil

Marinate:

1 tsp corn starch
1 teasppon Shaoxing wine (i used sake)
Marinate the fish for at least 10 minutes

Sauce:

1/2 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tbsp oyster sauce (i used vegetarian oyster sauce)
1/2 tsp corn starch
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp sesame oil
3-4 tbsp warm water
s&p (i skipped salt as the other ingredients are salty)

Directions

Heat up the wok with oil. When it is very hot add the ginger, stir-fry until aromatic and add the fish. Stir-fry the fish until half cooked, add the sauce and cook until done. Then add the scallion and toss to coat. Serve hot.

Above:

The fish dish
Cooking the fish in the sauce
Fish marinate (corn starch and sake)
Fish, scallions, garlic and sauce
Ingredients