Yummy Experiment #28: Vietnamese Baked Fish

For tonight’s dinner, I decided to make Vietnamese Baked Fish from the book The MediterrAsian Way: A Cookbook and Guide to Health, Weight Loss, and Longevity, Combining the Best Features of Mediterranean and Asian Diets. The recipe says it “serves 4”, so I halved the ingredients for our dinner.

Acknowledgement: The full and original version of this recipe can be found in The MediterrAsian Way: A Cookbook and Guide to Health, Weight Loss, and Longevity, Combining the Best Features of Mediterranean and Asian Diets. Feel free to visit their website mediterrasian.com. In addition, I took the photographs from this post. If you think it’s nice enough to use, please let me know.

Here’s what I used:

• 2 ripe tomatoes, diced
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 2 teaspoons finely grated fresh ginger
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh mint
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• Two 6-ounce cod fillets
• 1 carrot, julienned

After preparing the ingredients, I preheated our oven to 440°F. Then I got a bowl and mixed the first nine ingredients from the list above – tomatoes, fish sauce, lemon juice, sesame oil, ginger, garlic, mint, sugar and pepper.

I got two pieces of foil, placed carrots right smack in the middle of each foil and then the cod on top of the carrots. I topped the cod with the tomato mix and carrots, and drizzled it with the sauce from the tomato mix.

I folded the foil into a square. You better make sure that the foil’s closed nice and tight. Steam isn’t supposed to escape while in the oven. I placed the packets inside the oven and baked it at 440°F for 16 minutes.

Once the time was up, I opened the packet oh-so-slowly – the steam was really hot – and transferred everything to a plate. Here’s the result of tonight’s experiment.

Now about the recipe. I’m not a big fan of sesame oil, so I was a bit wary when I saw that in the ingredients list. Turns out the amount specified was just enough for me, nothing overpowering, so that was good. Overall, the flavors were subtle and the fish was tender and tasty. The whole thing can easily border on being bland, but was saved by the ginger, fish sauce and lemon juice. I also love how quickly it was baked in the oven, so it’s a dish you can whip up easily on a work night.

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