14/07/2020

Picked up my favourite paintbrush I practiced watercolour. The subject is the head of the fish we ate last night. It is kind of scary but fascinating object, especially the psychedelic light of death in the eyes. After the painting was completed, J looked at it and said I should do illustrations for Encyclopedia of birds and fish. I said that every creature in the world has been illustrated thousands of times. There is nothing new under the sun, but it is the first time I noticed the mesmerising colours in the eyes of dead fish.

I caught Two yellowtail scads just before dinner, so it’s very fresh daily catch. I want to make a traditional steamed fish dish with bean paste, but we only have miso paste in our boat, I assumed they taste similar so I used miso instead. Firstly apply the miso to the fish body and marinate for a while. Cover a plate with wombok cabbage leaves, place fish on top, coat with another layer of miso, sprinkle with ginger and garlic, spray with a little bit of oil, steam for five minutes, turn off the heat cover for 30 seconds (friend’s tips), open the lid and sprinkle with scallion and red peppers, pour hot oil on top to serve. This dish is another surprise. The salty and fresh taste of miso enhances the flavour of the fish. The cabbage absorbs the fish juice and hot oil to make it sweeter and more delicious. At the end, blend the rest of sauce with all the goodness to rice and serve. J loved this dish, saying this is the best way to cook this fish so far!