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by Nigel Bloxham from Crab House Café (RMC Books)

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A great fish, the flounder.Ìý It’s found in the sea & estuaries at certain times of the year.Ìý It likes fresh water & comes up the estuaries to breed.Ìý It’s very popular with the Americans – they’ve got huge estuaries so they eat a lot of flounder.Ìý It’s often considered a poor man’s plaice.Ìý It’s sometimes described as muddy in flavour but I don't think it is.Ìý I think it’s just a characteristic fish that’s strong flavoured, & can take strong flavours with it like garlic, chilli & ginger.Ìý That’s why we serve it Chinese style with some Chinese-style vegetables.Ìý It’s great & very easy to do – a great supper dish.

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Serves 4

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Prep time 15 mins

Cooking time 15 mins

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Ingredients

4 whole flounder (skinned and trimmed - get your fishmonger to do it!), approx. 340g each (or substitute with plaice, brill, witch, megrim or dab)

4 tbsp of garlic & ginger mix (see recipe below)

Mixed Chinese-style vegetables (i.e. bean sprouts, mooli radishes, water chestnuts, shredded cabbage – whatever you’ve got around)

1 glass white wine

Fresh chilli, finely chopped (quantity depends on your preference for heat… ½ red & ½ green chilli per fish)

1 lime, sliced

4 tbsp soy sauce

4 tbsp rapeseed or any other oil

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Method

Pre-heat your oven to around 200C / gas mark 6.

Place your Chinese-style vegetables on a baking tray.

Score the flounder 3-4 times across the backbone.Ìý Put the garlic & ginger mix into the cuts you’ve made.Ìý Place the fish on top of the vegetables.Ìý Top the fish with the chopped chilli & slices of lime.

Pour the wine over the fish & vegetables, wrap the tray in foil & put into the oven.Ìý Bake for around 15 mins.

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To serve:

While the fish is cooking, pour the soy sauce & oil into a bottle & give it a good shake to mix.

Once the fish is cooked, use a fish slice to put each portion onto the plates.Ìý Put the fish slice under the thick, heavy end of the fish & pick it up along with the vegetables.

Pour the soy sauce & oil mixture onto the tray, then pour this from the corner of the tray onto the plates as a dressing.Ìý The soy will split & make pretty patterns.Ìý This is great for dipping your fish into as you’re eating.

Serve with rice.

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Top Tip

Try rice wine or sake instead of white wine (or cider).

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Garlic & ginger mix (Chinese style)

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Ingredients

2 bulbs garlic

Root ginger, about the size of your thumb

1 tbsp fish or soy sauce

2 stalks lemon grass

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Method

Chop the bottom roots off the garlic & pull the wood from the centre of the bulb.Ìý Put into a food processor.

Peel the ginger.ÌýÌý Don't worry about getting every last bit of skin off.Ìý Chop roughly & put into the food processor.

Pour in the fish or soy sauce.

Chop the lemongrass into small bits & add to the food processor.

Blitz until it reaches a stuffing-like consistency. This mixture sometimes goes quite green.Ìý Don't worry!Ìý This is perfectly normal & the colour will disappear in the cooking.

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