A Comedy of Yummy Errors

I set out to do a quick, inexpensive, and healthy fish dinner. I should have read the instructions first (which I normally do, obsessively).

Steamed Red Snapper with Ginger and Scallions

I already had almost everything I needed in my pantry from the ingredients list for this Asian-inspired recipe. It called for wild striped bass which I knew would be pricey, but I figured I’d just get something comparable that looked good. I wanted the skin on the fish and ended up limited to red snapper when I was at the market—less expensive than the bass, but not exactly cheap.

Then I realized the scallions, ginger, and jalapeños were to be fried in batches (plus the ginger needs to be cut into matchsticks). Now it’s time-consuming and slightly less healthy… and smokes up my house and makes it smell like frying oil. As for health, at least they’re just garnishes.

Then—and this was the kicker—I found out I needed a covered steaming vessel that would fit a heat safe plate large enough to hold all these filets and the sauce. After about 30 minutes of experiments, I had devised a contraption using strategically broken bamboo skewers straddling a wok that would hold a pie plate that would hold the fish and could still be covered.

The recipe was tasty, though not quite worth that effort, and I failed on most of my original goals, but I did get it done.

Served with baby bok choy over ginger basmati rice...