The first time I had a sip of lapsang souchong tea, it made me think of smoky, savory broth rather than any tea I had tasted before. Lapsang souchong from the Fujian province of China, as I learned, is a black tea that is smoke-dried over pinewood. So it's no surprise that many describe it, some in the best way and some in the worst way, as 'campfire' in a cup. Preference on this tea seems pretty bipolar, but if you enjoy a whiff of warm reminders in the winter time - campfire, fireplace at home, burning wood, hot tea...- you will be pleasantly surprised to find another use of this tea.
As you might have guessed, I tried using it to steam fish and it became my favorite way to cook and eat fish at home. It's quick and easy, but you get a fish infused with lapsang souchong that is still delicate, flavorful, and smoky (without any eye-burning smoke filling up the kitchen, mind you). I used red mullets this time because it was fresh and small enough to fit in my pot, but other whole fish or fish fillets with delicate white flesh would soak up the smoky aroma well in steaming. The assertive smoky flavor of the tea is toned down in fish, complementing the delicate and subtle nature of the main ingredient. It is also one of the easiest ways to cook fish at home, because you can wrap the fish in tea to steam, from which you get a waft of lapsang souchong as you open the wrap, then you can throw out the whole wrap after you're done eating.
For the dipping sauce, I used soy sauce with fresh squeezed lemon juice so that it completments the savoriness of the fish and doesn't overpower the subtle, smoky flavor of the fish. In this case, it's definitely 'less is more.'
2 red mullets (or other fish fillet with white flesh)
5 C water
5 t lapsang souchong dried tea leaves
salt and pepper to season
1 T soy sauce
2 t fresh squeezed lemon juice (or vinegar)
Bring water up to a boil. Remove from heat. Add lapsang souchong in water and brew for 7-10 minutes. Strain and lay out tea leaves on paper towel. Put another layer of paper towel on top. Pour the strained tea in a pot.
Rinse the fish carefully and pat dry. Sprinkle salt and pepper on both sides of the fish. Place the fish on the tea paper towel and fold the paper towel to wrap.
Set up a steamer in a pot with brewed lapsang souchong tea. I used a perforated tripod for steaming with fairly short legs. In this case, make sure the tea doesn't come up too close to the steamer. You can also use a steamer that sits on top of a pot. Turn up the heat and bring tea to a boil.
Place the wrapped fish in the steamer. Put the lid on and steam for 15 minutes over high heat.
After 15 minutes, carefully open the lid away from you, otherwise, you might get a burst of hot steam on your face. Check the flesh - if it's opaque white, it's done. Remove from the steamer.
Enjoy the 'smoked' fish with tangy soy sauce splashed with lemon juice.
RELATED POSTS
Stuffed Squid (오징어 순대; o jing eo sun dae)
Carrot Mushroom Rice
KOREAN WORDS
Smoked (as in food) 훈제 (hoon je)
Fish (food) 생선 (saeng seon)
Fish (swimming in water) 물고기 (mul go gi)
