Delicious, light meal with that lovely shiitake flavor.
We’ve been getting the Sunset Wine Club selections for probably close to a year. It’s a great wine club—I don’t think that we’ve not liked any of the wines, plus they send recipes to do wine pairings with. And everyone knows how much I love a Sunset magazine recipe! (Okay, if you’re new to this blog or don’t know me, Sunset magazine is my absolutely favorite magazine ever. EVER.)
But have we actually made any of these recipes to pair with the wine? No. Not a one. Until recently, that is, when The Husband decide we should go for it. And, since the fish boycott seems to have been lifted (mainly because he’s not going to the acupuncturist anymore who started the ban), we were excited to try the fish recipe that paired with a Pinot Noir.
WHAT?! I know! Red wine with fish? Have those nutty Northern California magazine people lost their minds?
I put the mushrooms in with the broth to infuse it before adding to the recipe. Yum!
Well, apparently not, because the pairing was, indeed, delicious. As the recipe card says, and I quote because I am not a wine-description writer: “The earthy, foresty side of Pinot Noir gets along with the mushroom world. And this Pinot has a dark enough soul to like soy sauce, yet is light enough to work well with fish.” The wine in question is a Sonoma Coast Vineyards 2009 Salmon Creek Block Pinot Noir. And sadly, they only sent one bottle.
So, without further ado, here is the recipe in question. Oh, a few notes: it called for grouper, and we used halibut from Sam at the farmers market. I used the Better Than Bouillon mushroom concentrate to make the stock, and I added a little of their “no beef” beef stock concentrate to it too, to make it a little pho-like. I could only find huge shiitake mushrooms, so I sliced them thickly, when they just said to leave them whole. And I added the mushrooms and ginger to the stock as I was heating it up, to infuse more flavor into it before adding to the recipe. By the way, this would be delicious with soft tofu instead of the halibut, for those vegetarians out there…
Braised Halibut with Ginger-Shiitake Broth
4 halibut fillets, around 5-6 oz. each (or other white fish)
Sea salt & fresh ground black pepper
1 Tbsp. grapeseed or sunflower oil
4 cups vegetable broth
2 heads baby bok choy, leaves separated
12 shiitake mushrooms (if they are big, get 4 or 5)
2 Tbs. soy sauce
2 tsp. minced ginger
2 tsp. thinly sliced green onion
2 tsp. thinly sliced red jalapeño chile
2 tsp. toasted sesame oil
Season your fish with salt and pepper. Heat a frying pan (they said not non-stick, but my fish stuck, but maybe I did something wrong) over medium-high heat, add the oil and let it heat before adding the fish fillets. Cook for about 2 minutes, until the fish starts to brown, then flip and reduce the heat to medium. Add the broth, bok choy, mushrooms, soy sauce and ginger.
Cover and cook until the fish is opaque but still moist-looking in the middle (I overcooked it just a little bit, so keep an eye on it!), about 3 minutes.
Divide fish, mushrooms and bok choy among four bowls; or two, if you’re leaving some for leftovers (which are delicious!). Pour broth over the fish and veggies. Garnish with green onion and jalapeño, and drizzle with sesame oil. Serve!
tinykitchenstories 
This looks light and extremely healthy. Can’t wait to give it a try!
It was very delicious yet felt very good for you. I’d recommend it with the wine, too!