Steamed sole fillets on winter melon with aged tangerine peel
Light steamed fish on tender winter melon, scented with tangerine peel and ginger — low in fat, with a small bowl of brown rice.
- 30 min
- Serves 2
- Steam
- Easy
Why it suits you: Phlegm-Dampness brings a heavy body, tiredness and a greasy feeling in the mouth, all worse in Summer Solstice's steamy heat. Winter melon drains water, tangerine peel dries damp and resolves phlegm, and steamed fish is light and easy to digest — you finish feeling light, not stuffed.
Method
Prep 15 min · Cook 15 min- 1Soak the shiitake and tangerine peel until soft; slice the mushrooms, scrape the pith off the peel and shred it. Peel and deseed the winter melon and cut into 0.5 cm slices.
- 2Pat the fish dry with kitchen paper, cut into large pieces and mix with the cornflour and a splash of the soy sauce.
- 3Lay the melon slices in a deep plate, top with the fish and mushrooms, and scatter over the peel and ginger.
- 4Steam over boiling water on high heat for 10–12 minutes, until the melon is translucent and the fish turns white.
- 5Pour off most of the juices, drizzle over the rest of the soy sauce and the hot oil, scatter the spring onion and serve each person half a bowl of brown rice.
Chef's tips
- Slice the melon thinly so it cooks with the fish. Keep the peel and pith to boil with water into winter melon tea.
The TCM view
Winter melon is sweet, bland and cool; it drains damp and clears summer heat. Aged tangerine peel is pungent, bitter and warm and dries damp and phlegm; shiitake is sweet and neutral and supports digestion; the fish is sweet and neutral, nourishing without richness; ginger warms the middle and balances the melon's coolness. Light and low in fat — clearing damp while protecting spleen yang.
