Featured on the Fish Dish podcast!
Quick … easy … nutritious! Steam your fish fillet to perfection in a microwave on those busy days when you come home hungry and the fish might be frozen.
Ingredients
- 2 lake whitefish fillets or other fish (about 6-8 oz each)
- 1 lemon
- salt and pepper to taste
- herbs to taste (tarragon and chives work nicely)
- 1-2 tsp liquid (this could be water, white wine, milk, citrus juice or another fish-friendly liquid)
- edible flowers for garnish (find an edible flower list on the What’s Cooking America website)
Method
- Place the fillets in a microwave-safe dish. (Skin side down if the fillets still have skin.)
- Season as desired. (Salt, pepper, a squirt of lemon, herbs and so forth.)
- Add a teaspoon of liquid to keep the fish moist.
- Cover the dish with a microwave-safe lid or microwavable plastic wrap.
- Poke a small hole in the wrap to let a bit of steam escape
- Microwave your fish for about 3 minutes. Cooking time depends your microwave and the fish. See below.
- Cool for a minute or two in the microwave before removing so you don’t burn yourself.
- Garnish with additional herbs, lemon slices and flowers.
For a speedy taco, add chili powder, chopped cilantro and lime juice to the cooked fish and serve with other taco fixings.
About Cooking Times
- Know your microwave. Fish microwaved in a higher-wattage oven (650 or more watts) will take roughly a third less time than in a lower-wattage oven.
- In a higher-wattage oven, four thawed 1/2-inch-thick fish fillets will cook in about 3 minutes; one-inch-thick salmon steaks will take 1-2 minutes longer.
- To microwave frozen fish fillets, add a minute to the cooking time.
- If the fish fillets are much thicker in the center, fold the thin ends under to create a uniform thickness.
- If the fish isn’t opaque by the end of the original cooking time, keep microwaving in 30-second increments until done.
- Be conservative with your cooking time. There is no uncook setting!
