This recipe was sent to me by my friend Jo Tritsch. A donabe is the perfect cooking vessel.
Serves 6
Ingredients
3 cloves garlic, minced
Thumb-length of ginger, minced
3 carrots, peeled and sliced into rounds
1 bunch green onions, whites for the hot pot, minced greens for garnish
2 Tbl vegetable oil
3 Tbl oyster sauce
3 Tbl soy sauce
2 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt, more to taste
½ tsp white pepper
3 whole pieces star anise
1 or 2 hot peppers (red serrano look beautiful in the dish)
1 16-oz brick tofu, cubed
1 pound firm fleshed white fish like halibut or cod. Feel free to substitute cubed chicken breast
1-2 quarts chicken stock or dashi
Handful of cilantro leaves
Serve with steamed rice or noodles and a spicy condiment like chili-garlic sauce.
Instructions
Cube fish and marinade in 1 Tbl of the soy sauce, 1 Tbl oyster sauce, and 1/3 of the minced ginger. Add cold water until fish is covered. Let sit for 30 minutes.
In a donabe, sweat minced garlic in vegetable oil. Add the rest of minced ginger and carrots. Let vegetables sweat in the cooking heat.
Add the green onion bulbs, star anise, white pepper, the additional 1 Tbl soy sauce, the remaining 2 Tbl oyster sauce, sugar, and salt. Bring to a simmer.
Add fish with enough stock or dashi so that the ingredients are covered. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 10 minutes.
Add tofu and cook until heated through.
Taste for seasoning, adding more oyster sauce or soy sauce as needed.
Garnish with thinly sliced green onions, cilantro leaves, and sesame oil.