Lunar New Year is a time to share the joy, good fortune and of course, good food with friends and family! To celebrate the year of the rabbit and bring prosperity into the new year, chef and restauranteur Josh Niland has developed this Drunken Aquna Murray Cod and Ginger Shallot recipe with all levels of cooking experience in mind, making it the perfect dish to wow your friends and family, as there is no better time to enjoy the perfect seafood dish packed with Asian flavours and spices.

DRUNKEN AQUNA MURRAY COD & GINGER SHALLOT

By Josh Niland

 

Ingredients  

4 x 200g Aquna Murray Cod Fillets,

12 fresh shiitake mushrooms 
100 g (31⁄2 oz) oyster mushrooms 
100 g (31⁄2 oz) enoki mushrooms  

1 teaspoon sesame oil XO sauce

 

To Serve 

 
Ginger Shallot sauce 
50 g (finely grated ginger 
6 spring onions, finely sliced 
350 ml canola oil 
60–70 ml light soy sauce, to taste  

 

White pepper, Sesame and Sichuan seasoning  

1 tablespoon ground white pepper 1 tablespoon white sesame seeds  

1 tablespoon sichuan peppercorns  

 

Stock  

1.25 litres shaoxing wine 
90 ml light soy sauce 
40 g dried shiitake mushrooms 
110 g peeled fresh ginger, sliced into 2–3 mm thick slices

3 green shallots, cut into 5 cm batons 
1 tablespoons ground white pepper 
2 star anise 
1 garlic bulbs, halved 
4.25 litres water  

 

Method  

To make the ginger spring onion sauce, combine the ginger and spring onion in a small heatproof bowl. Heat the oil in a small saucepan until almost smoking, then immediately pour it over the ginger and spring onion mixture. 

 
You should see and hear it sizzling. (If this isn’t happening the oil isn’t hot enough, so return it to the heat and try again.)  

 

Season with the soy and mix together well. Set aside to cool to room temperature. 

 
The sauce will keep in the fridge for up to a week, but the flavour will start to lose its punch over time.  

 

For the white pepper, sesame and sichuan seasoning, toast the ingredients individually in a dry frying pan until aromatic, then use a mortar and pestle to grind them together into a powder. Spoon into a small bowl and set aside.  

 

Add all the stock ingredients to a large saucepan and bring to the boil over a high heat, then reduce the heat and simmer for 1 hour. 

 
Remove from the heat. 
 

Add the Aquna Murray Cod Fillets, cover with a lid and set aside for 10–12 minutes, until the flesh is just opaque and the internal temperature of the fish at its thickest part measures 44°C (111°F) on a probe thermometer.  

 

Using a slotted spoon, carefully transfer the fish pieces to a clean plate and gently peel away the skin (it should peel off easily if the flesh is cooked). 

 
Leave to rest for 3–4 minutes. While the fish is resting, add the mushrooms to the hot stock (still off the heat) and leave for 2 minutes to gently warm through.  

 

Divide the Aquna Murray Cod Fillets among serving bowls, top with the tender mushrooms and drizzle over a little sesame oil. 

 
Lightly season the fish, then ladle over a little of the stock to finish.  

 

Serve immediately with the ginger spring onion sauce, sichuan seasoning and a small bowl of XO sauce.