Large Smelts Baked with Bok Choy and Mushrooms

Contains:  Seafood (fish), nightshades (seasoning).  Is:  Quick and easy. 

My camera’s battery is about dead, and the charger has gone on walkabout, so I’ve chosen to find an old recipe I made back in 2007 and recorded elsewhere.

I was given the opportunity tonight to work with some large smelts. Very large; I only bought four when all was said and done.

If you use smaller smelts, adapt accordingly (more smelts, and less cooking time)

Prep Time:  5 minutes.
Cook Time:  Up to 12 minutes.  Small smelt – 8 minutes will suffice.
Rest Time:  Not needed.
Serves:  1.
Leftovers:  Why not?

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 large smelts, de-gutted and washed.
• vermouth to cover bottom of small pan, and a little higher.
• 3 large and fresh shiitake mushrooms (remove stem and break up the cap)
• Pinch of Korean pepper in each smelt body cavity (if you can’t find this, use regular ground pepper)
• 1/4 to 1/2 tsp garlic powder, over fish and in cavities.
• 1 tsp lemon or lime juice
• 1/2 tsp sesame oil (use hot sesame oil if you don’t use Korean pepper)
• Dill. Preferably fresh (or frozen) but I had to make do with the stuff in a jar.  
• 1 baby bok choy, broken up.  (Today, I’d use at least twice as much.)  And another for serving under the smelts.

METHOD:

Lay the smelts out in a cooking pan, then lay down the seasonings except for the dill or the second bok choy. Some of the mushroom pieces will fit into body cavities of the smelts, as will the pepper and some bok choy.

If you cannot do Korean ground pepper and regular sesame oil.. switch with regular ground black pepper and hot sesame oil.

Bake the above at 350 degrees F (I added a little more vermouth than depicted, once the photo was taken). Cook large smelts for 12 minutes in a pre-heated oven. Serve over more baby bok choy, sprinkle dill — best if fresh, though I didn’t have any to hand for the next photo –, spoon broth, approximately three tablespoons, over food –and eat!  You will have to discard the backbone, which is easy to pull out!

I would have been satisfied with three of these large smelts!  This would go good with rice.

Links:

• Fiesta Friday. With Co-Host:   Pauline @ Beautiful Voyager.
• Farmhouse Friday.
• What’s for Dinner? Sunday Link-Up.
• Full Plate Thursday.