Something Smells Fishy

I made fish last night...at my house. I'm sure that I've mentioned before that I have an aversion to cooking fish at home but don't mind it at restaurants. The smell just gets to me. But this didn't make my house too smelly and it turned out pretty good. I don't have good pics because I only took one of my non-perfect fish packets before they went into the oven. A note about the banana leaves: You might not find them displayed in your grocery store so you will likely need to ask one of the produce employees to get it for you from the back. At least, that was my experience at Whole Foods. They brought out a huge sheet and offered to cut as much as I needed. It was $5.99/lb and I ended up purchasing 87 cents worth. The leaves can be a little tricky. They started breaking apart while I was handling them. The recipe isn't my own but was passed on to me from my aunt who found it here.

Baked Wrapped Tilapia
Source: www.epicurious.com

Ingredients:
1-inch cube fresh gingerroot, finely chopped or grated
2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped or grated
2 green onions (green part only), finely chopped
Fresh chile to taste (I used one serrano - use more if you like spicy food)
1 cup finely chopped cilantro
2 tbsp grapeseed (or safflower) oil
Dash of toasted sesame oil
Dash of soy sauce
Dash of fish sauce
4 tsp dark maple syrup
4 fillets (4 oz each) fresh tilapia (or other firm-fleshed whitefish)
4 large banana leaves (or unbleached parchment paper)

Steps:

 

Preheat oven to 400°F. Combine all topping ingredients in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Place a fillet on each banana leaf and divide topping evenly among them, spreading it over the top. Fold each banana leaf over to form a packet around each fillet and seal the edge of each packet with a small piece of aluminum foil, crimping it tightly. Place on a baking sheet and bake 25 to 30 minutes.