Not Just for Fine Dining, Golden Trout
Last Saturday I went to the Pike Place Market to get the fresh fish of the day for my family dinner. Golden trout caught my eye. When I visited the market last summer, only City Fish carried it. This time around it seemed that every fish stall had a pile of golden trout, so I thought this would be a perfect time to share my recipe with you for Steamed Golden Trout in Lime-Chili-Garlic-Dill Sauce. The pictures were taken a while ago, but the recipe is timeless. It is based on Phuket Pla Nueng Manao—steamed fish in lime juice—but the way I prepared it reflects my new home in the Pacific Northwest.
Golden trout is a sub-species of rainbow trout, both of which are related to salmon. The pale pink color of the flesh and its texture are a really amazing mixture of both trout and salmon. There are many ways to prepare golden trout, but today my favorite is to steam them. I love cooking fish whole, so using the oven is a quick way to go.
The golden trout I bought was from a farm in Idaho. Golden trout’s natural habitat is the “clear, cold headwaters of creeks and lakes at elevations above 6,890 feet,” but most golden trout come from fish farms. This is because you may fish for them for your personal consumption but not to sell them commercially. Most golden trout in the markets are from the Idaho Trout Company. From my research I learned that fly fishing for rainbow trout and golden trout is a very popular activity.
Fresh Rainbow Trout from Pike Place Market
When it comes to steaming fish, I am my grandma’s grandaughter. I ate many meals of steamed fish with my grandmother, like Clay Pot Lemongrass-Steamed Fish (Pla Nueng Morh Din). I hope you will have a chance to cook a few of her recipes. Several of them are featured in the Asian Grandmothers Cookbook by Pat Tanumihardja. At home here in Seattle, I have adapted my grandmother’s recipe into an easy and fun way to prepare fish for my friends and family. My recipe below reflects my quick and easy method for doing this at home. I will let you decide which way you prefer.
Garlic, Lime, Dill and Purple Chili
PLA NUENG MANAO
ปลานึ่งมะนาว
Steamed Golden Trout with Lime-Chili-Garlic-Dill Sauce
Servings: 4
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 15 minutes
If you love fish, this recipe works for all occasions! It is light, fresh and delightful — yet easy to prepare. While steaming the fish, prepare the sauce. When the fish is cooked, just pour the sauce over it and serve with hot, fragrant jasmine rice.
1 whole golden trout, or any fileted fish (cooking time may vary) 4 lemongrass stalks, trimmed and smashed large sheet of parchment paper and foil 10 cloves garlic, peeled 5 Thai red chilis, purple chilis, jalapeno or Serrano peppers 1 cilantro root 1 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons sugar 2 tablespoons fish sauce 3 tablespoons lime juice 1/4 cup chopped dill or cilantro 4 lime slices for garnishUsing a mortar and pestle, pound garlic, peppers, cilantro root and salt until smooth. With pestle, blend in sugar, fish sauce and lime juice until sugar dissolves. Stir in dill. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 375°F. Place 1/4 cup water in a 9” x 13” baking pan, then spread the lemongrass out. Place the trout on the bed of lemongrass and sprinkle salt on top of the fish. Cover the dish with parchment paper and then the foil, wrapping it around the edges to form a seal. Bake until the fish is cooked, about 10 to 15 minutes. (The good thing about steaming is you never overcook the fish). To check if the fish is done, insert a knife into the thickest part of the fish and lift the flesh away from the backbone. If it is easy to separate the flesh from the backbone, then it is done. If not, steam a little bit longer.
Place trout on a serving dish along with all of the steaming water. Pour the lime sauce over the top, then garnish with sliced limes and serve with jasmine rice.
Cook’s Note:
~Thai chilies are recommended for this recipe because they have a lingering flavor; you may remove seeds if needed. To control the spiciness of your finished dish, use 2 chilies for mild, 3 or 4 for medium, and 5 or 6 for a full spicy flavor.
~Always add the fish sauce before the lime juice to keep the sauce vibrant and fresh tasting.
~Best of all is to prepare the sauce while the fish is cooking. If you have a steamer, you can steam the fish in a serving size bowl and pour the sauce on top just before serving.
~The sauce can be used as a dipping sauce for any seafood, including mussels, clams and crab meat.
Related articles
- Pla Nuang Manao – Steamed Fish in Lime Juice (pccnaturalmarkets.com)
- RECIPE: Steamed Chili Fish (theeaglesroost.wordpress.com)
- Pistachio Encrusted Rainbow Trout (foodsinthefastlane.com)
Pranee's Thai Kitchen 