Cooking
I’m cooking Kenji López-Alt’s gorgeous Cantonese-style fish this weekend so that I have the technique nailed in time for Lunar New Year.
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Good morning. We’re 10 days out from Lunar New Year, and if I’m going to make good on my promise to serve Kenji López-Alt’s Cantonese-style steamed fish (above) alongside noodles and dumplings, I’m going to have to start practicing today.
Here’s why. I’ve had the dish many times in restaurants. But I’ve never made it at home. And I believe in the old, familiar refrain: Don’t ever make a celebratory dish for the first time on the occasion of the celebration itself. Getting my steamer basket going this weekend, figuring out whether I’d prefer black sea bass or porgy, working out the hot-oil situation at the end — these are all pleasant, exciting things to do on an anonymous Sunday the day before a national holiday. There’s no pressure. Only the exploration of technique. I can’t wait.
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Cantonese-Style Steamed Fish
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And with Sunday sorted, I can turn to the rest of the week. …
Monday
Having followed a recipe closely on a Sunday, I’d like to start the week off with a riff: my no-recipe recipe for bulgogi-style tofu, which you can alter to make your own. (Readers have provided some excellent notes on it, should you seek advice on the freedom of improvisation.)
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