momofuku inspired soba and halibut

I chose a photo w/ fish on the side so you can actually see some scallions, really there is a lot in there

I come by my love for halibut naturally.  My great grandfather was a halibut fisherman.  I doubt very much that he ate it like this, but I often wonder just how they did eat it.  Did they experiment or make the same dishes over and over?  There is no one left to ask those questions so I must presume that since I love to experiment with food, therefore they must have too.  I hope they would approve of this dish, it was pretty damn good!

David Chang has been teasing the world with is brave creations at his restaurants in NYC for some time, but now that he has published his Momofuku cookbook you don’t have to visit New York to get a taste.  Though, the talk of the web is that this ginger-scallion sauce of his does not taste like the original, restaurant version.  Boo hoo.  A recipe for this must have sauce can be found all over the web from NPR, Amazon to even the Wall Street Journal.

I pared it with some pan seared fresh halibut, (Hello, it is Alaskan Halibut season ), and a pile of buckwheat soba noodles.  It was a delicious weekend lunch. It is also the time of year we are getting very fresh ginger from Hawaii, jump on it!

I found the ginger-scallion sauce to be not so saucy as I thought. Even a little slippery, which may have been my scallions more than anything.  Since I have not had the luxury of having the real thing I do not have anything to compare it to.  It also seemed like it was missing something, like other bloggers have said, even Momofuku for 2 wrote a post or two about it.  I doctored it up quite a bit.  Playing with the hot, sour, salty, sweet ideology of the East, helped balance the flavors and take a bit of the raw edge off the scallions.

Without further ado, here is my bastardized version:

• 1 large bunch of scallions (green onions) thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup minced fresh ginger
• 1 Tbsp fish sauce
• 1 Tbsp hoisin sauce
• 1/2 tsp sriracha or other Asian garlic chili sauce
• squeeze of fresh lime juice

Mix together in a bowl, let sit for at least a few minutes, but longer is better. My additions of the fish sauce, hoisin, sriracha and lime are not original. If I were you and wanted to make it, try adding smaller amounts of the additions until you get the taste you like.  It was very fresh tasting, great for spring.

♦  Cook the noodles according to the package directions and drain and rinse.  Toss with a few spoons of the sauce.  Taste and adjust seasonings a necessary.

♦  Top with a pan seared piece of halibut, add a little more sauce over the fish.

♦  Pan Seared Halibut follow the steps taken in this recipe for salmon, same technique different fish –>> pan seared wild salmon

Tagged as: Asian, fish, pasta, quick