It poured rain today - cats, dogs, elephants and sloths. Didn't stop. No latitude to take a long bike ride after work. I decided against my better Atkin's/Carb-free-Miami-Diet Meledy a-go-go dietary wardrobe malfunction, if I cannot bike, I'd better cook.

So, I shook out the Spring rain off the umbrella and put on my apron and the new Limp Bizkit CD (or was it Puddle of Mudd?)

Nothing comes fresher than fresh fish, I present without further adu:

Tilapia braised com ginger, Scallions com um sauce de Chardonnay do cogumelo de Shitake
(Braised Tilapia with Ginger, Scallions with a Shitake Mushroom Chardonnay sauce)

2.5lb-3lb Tilapia (head off, cleaned or 2.5lb with no bone)
3tbsp soy sauce
3 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1.5tbsp balsamic vinegar
3 tbsp honey
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp sesame oil
5 large cloves fresh garlic
1/4-1/2 cup thinly sliced fresh ginger
4 medium scallions, sliced diagonally thin
1/4 cup fresh cilantro or Italian Parsley, chopped
6 medium freeze dried shitake mushrooms, re-hydrated & sliced thin (see below)
1/2 cup Chardonnay
1/2 cup chicken broth
salt and cracked pepper to taste

Before you begin, you must marinade the fish first, and rehydrate the shitake mushrooms:

Marinade for Tilapia: In a large mixing bowl, combine soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, honey and sesame oil. Wisk so that honey is well mixed in. Clean Tilapia, pat dry and put in marinade for 10 minutes on each side.

To rehydrate shitake mushrooms, combine 1/2 of warm chicken broth , and 1/2 of Chardonnay and all 6 shitake mushrooms in a small bowl to soak for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, slice up shitake mushrooms and save the Chardonnay-broth mixture for later.

In a large flat saucepan (with lid), add 2tbsp olive oil, heat on high and saute 1/2 of the chopped garlic and scallions for one minute. Turn heat down to medium and slowly lay the Tilapia into the pan on an angle (to avoid any hot splatter) and quickly move it around the pan to partially brown for 1 minute on each side. Lay the ginger slices on the bottom of the pan and lay the fish on top and pour the rest of the marinade over the top of the fish. Toss the rest of the garlic, scallions, cilantro/parsley, shitake mushrooms and Chardonnay/broth mixture into pan and cover. Let braise for 4 minutes or until Tilapia is flaky and no longer pink.

To Plate: Serve on a wide plate and dish with fresh sprigs of cilantro and lemon wedges. Drizzle the sauce over whole fish. Serve similar dry Chardonnay. Nice complementary dishes: Spicy Cold Sesame Noodles and Garlic Infused Spinach with Baby Bok Choy with Arrugulla.