Thai Steamed Sea Bass with Sesame Noodles, Garlic Pak Choi and Beetroot

My mum is on a Slimming World diet which doesn’t allow oil unless you count it as a syn.  So I decided to create something that she could cook.  This recipe does include oil but you can omit it as it’s not used in the cooking process or you could swap the noodles for cauliflower rice if necessary.  To make cauliflower rice, simply blitz up raw cauliflower in a food processor until fine, put in a bowl covered in cling film with a small slit in the top and microwave for 2 minutes.  I definitely cook this for her next time she comes around as she loves fish, loves Thai food and it’s really tasty!  I bought my thai ingredients from an oriental wholesaler, they were very cheap.  I have about 100 lime leaves in my freezer now!

Serves 2

Paste:

6cm ginger root

1 garlic clove

Juice of 2 limes

4 lime leaves

2 tbsp water

1 birds eye chilli

1 stick of lemon grass

2 large handfuls of fresh coriander

Fish

2 sea bass filleted or 4 sea bass fillets

Salt and Pepper

Vegetables

2 fresh raw beetroot

2 pak choi

1 clove of garlic

Noodles

2 nests of wholewheat noodles

1 tsp toasted sesame oil

1 tsp sesame seeds

Unsweetened desiccated coconut to serve (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 200C.
2. Peel the ginger and lemongrass and blend it together with the other paste ingredients in the food processor.
3. Get 2 1 metre pieces of kitchen foil to make your 2 packets for your fish, 1 per person.  Divide the 2 portions of fish between the 2 pieces of foil and place them in the middle with space either side to seal.  First, lay the fish skin side up and season with salt and pepper.  Then turn them over and spread on the paste on each of the fillets.
4. For each packet, bring the two ends together and scrunch so that there is some space above the fish to make steam.  Then seal the sides.
5. Place in the oven on a baking tray for 15 minutes, then open each packet up and bake for a further 5 minutes.
6. Meanwhile, make the vegetables and noodles.
7. Boil the kettle
8. Meanwhile, chop off the root and tops from the beetroot, scrub any mud and remove any gnarly bits with a knife.  Using a mandolin on its biggest setting (about 2mm) cut the beetroot into slices.  Put in a small saucepan with the boiling water and simmer for 10 minutes.
9. Put a large dry non stick frying pan on a medium heat.Slice the pak choi lengthways into 5mm thick slices.  Add to the pan and wait for it to sizzle.  Add about 5mm of water from the kettle to the bottom of the pan.  Crush in a clove of  garlic.  If all the water evaporates, add more, don’t let it go dry until near the end.  Cook for 3-4 minutes each side.
10. Add boiling water from the kettle to a medium saucepan and simmer the noodles for 5 minutes with a pinch of salt.
11. Once cooked, drain and return to the pan, stir in the sesame oil and sesame seeds.
12. Plate up and sprinkle on the coconut if using.