Basil Snapper

I felt like fish and when I got to Save On they had snapper on special.  So I bought a pack and headed for the vegetables. Broccoli is really expensive for some reason but bok choy is cheap! I was planning rice so it should work. I headed home.

I added salt, olive oil and a squirt of lemon juice to the rice. Not enough to make it lemony, just enough acid to bring out the flavour. Into the microwave and hit the Rice button, a moisture sensor determines when it's done and white rice comes out perfect every time. Brown rice, not so much.

I boned the snapper and seasoned it well with salt and pepper. I went next door and stole some fresh basil from their garden. I laid the fish in plenty of hot oil in a frying pan and laid the basil on top. Then I turned to the bok choy. I diced it up with a stick of celery and put it all in a big frying pan with canola oil and a bit of sesame oil.  It needed some liquid to get it cooking so I gave it a few drops of rice wine vinegar. Not enough. No stock open. Soy Sauce! That did the trick and everything started to soften. I wondered how the soy sauce would pair with the floral taste of basil but hoped they would be happy together. 

The snapper had taken on a delicate flavour from the basil that contrasted nicely with the salty soy sauce on the bok choy. I'm not sure a chef would combine the flavours, but for a home cook trying to find new vegetables, it worked, once. Next time I'll have stock open and ready and I'll use olive oil and hope I can Mediterraneanize the bok choy. It's a type of cabbage so it should travel. I'd put fresh basil on the fish while it's cooking again. That flavour is really nice.