MARQUESAN BAKED SNAPPER WITH ORANGE-COCONUT SAUCE
SOURCE: SAM CHOY. SAM CHOY'S POLYNESIAN KITCHEN: MORE THAN 150 AUTHENTIC DISHES FROM ONE OF THE WORLD"S MOST DELICIOUS AND OVERLOOKED CUISINES.
Throughout his lifetime, Herman Melville claimed his literary fame from his debut book, Typee: A Peep at Polynesian Life, wherein he recounted his brief stay in the Marquesan island of Nuku Hiva under the first-person narrative of Tom. Typee did not just collectively refer to the clan of hospitable “cannibals”, who harmlessly held Melville, and, in fictional effect, Tom, in captivity, but the label was also a verbal variation of their tribal domain, Tai Pī or Taipivai Valley. Aside from its size, the Taipivai boasts the fertility of its soil in growing fruit-bearing trees like bananas, oranges, and coconuts, quite ironic for a name that translates to “a sea full of water”. Cuisine-wise, the irony of Taipivai characterizes the tropical paradise flavor of the Marquesas. Taste the case of an orange juice and coconut milk liaison saucing a firm white-fleshed saltwater fish. Never in a million years anyone can imagine that sweet, citrus, and floral flavors will be compatible with fish but it works!
Ingredients
4 snapper fillets, weighing about 6 ounces/170 grams each
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 tablespoons/30 grams unsalted butter
2 medium-sized bananas, cut in half lengthwise
Orange Coconut Sauce
2 tablespoons/30 grams unsalted butter
4 tablespoons/50 grams sugar, preferably Muscovado sugar
1/2 cup/120 mL freshly squeezed orange juice
1 tablespoon/15 mL lemon juice
1/2 cup/120 mL coconut milk, preferably freshly pressed
Specific Equipment
Baking pan lined with parchment paper
Skillet OR sauté pan
Small saucepan
Serves 4
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350°F/175°C.
2. Season the snapper fillets with salt and pepper and place them on a baking pan lined with parchment paper. Set aside.
3. Melt 2 tablespoons/30 grams butter in a skillet over medium heat. Sauté in the bananas on one side for 3 minutes or until they turn golden brown. Turn the bananas over the other side and sauté for another 3 minutes or until they turn golden brown. Place each slice of banana on top of each snapper fillet. Set aside.
4. Melt 2 tablespoons/30 grams butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the sugar and continue heating until the sugar dissolves into the butter and changes into a light brown color. Pour in the orange juice and lemon juice, stirring constantly, until well-blended. Bring the mixture to a boil for 3 minutes or until the mixture has reduced to half its volume.
5. Stir in the coconut milk until well-blended. Remove the saucepan from heat and season the sauce with salt and pepper, adjusting according to taste. Spoon the sauce over the snapper fillets and banana slices.
6. Bake the snapper fillets for 10 to 12 minutes or until the sauce is bubbling. Remove from heat.
7. Transfer the snapper fillets collectively to a serving platter or individual dining plates, and serve hot.
