Chinese Halibut

This is the kind of restrained Cantonese-style cooking that lets a great piece of fish do the talking. Halibut steaks marinate briefly in a pureed mix of fresh ginger, scallions, two kinds of soy sauce, rice wine and toasted sesame oil. The ingredients are familiar but the proportions matter. Six tablespoons of scallions to three of ginger lets the alliums push back against the bite of fresh ginger.

The two-soy combination is a Chinese kitchen staple. Light soy brings the salt and the savory umami; dark soy adds depth, color and a faint molasses sweetness from the longer fermentation. Sesame oil is added at the end of the marinade rather than cooked, so its delicate, nutty aroma stays intact.

Charcoal is the right grill here. Gas works, but the wood smoke that comes off real coals is what defines the dish. The marinade caramelizes hot and fast against the high heat, leaving the inside silky and just-cooked.

Chef Tips

• Don’t marinate longer than 2 hours. The soy and rice wine are salty and acidic enough to start curing the halibut, leaving you with mushy fish if you forget about it overnight.
• Wait for ash-white coals before grilling. Live flame torches the marinade into bitter char before the fish cooks through.
• Oil the grill grates well right before the halibut hits them. Lean white fish sticks aggressively, and a torn fillet looks sad on the plate.
• Don’t move the fish for the first 4 minutes. Halibut needs time to release naturally from the grates; pulling early tears the fillet.
• Serve immediately. Reheated grilled fish loses everything that made it good in the first place.

Variations

• Use thick salmon steaks or tuna loin in place of halibut for a richer, fattier fish that handles the marinade beautifully.
• Swap rice wine for dry sherry as the recipe suggests, or try mirin for a sweeter, glossier finish.
• Serve over a bed of steamed jasmine rice with stir-fried bok choy or grilled bok choy halves to round out the plate.