Silver Cod in Sha-Cha Sauce

Ingredients (serves two):

2 x 320g silver cod fillets, skin on
75g yakinika sauce *
40g "Bull Head" sha cha sauce *
20ml dark soy sauce
80ml light soy sauce
60g caster sugar
12g "Maggi" liquid seasoning *
200ml still mineral water
Pinch white ground pepper
Pinch table salt
1 x large bunch Thai spring onions
100g fresh cloud ear
2 x large leeks, white only, very finely sliced lengthways, rinsed in cold water
25 grams wheat starch (mixed with water to make a thin paste)
Good quality organic, clear honey (for brushing)
Vegetable oil (for deep-frying)
4 x dried wolfberries (optional garnish)

Preparation:
To make the marinade, mix together the yakinika, sha cha, light and dark soy sauces in a large bowl. Add in the sugar, "Maggi" seasoning, water and a pinch each of table salt and white ground pepper. Stir well. Place the fish carefully into the marinade, turning it over until completely covered in the liquid. Cover the bowl with cling film and refrigerate for 3 hours.

Once the fish is marinated, remove from the fridge. Pre-heat the grill to a very high heat. Line a shallow roasting tin (approx. 2 inches depth) with tin foil. Take a sharp knife and finely slice the green part of the spring onions, lengthways. Discard the whites of the onions. Add the sliced spring onion greens to the foil-covered roasting tin, spreading around the base evenly. Carefully place the marinated fillets, skin side up, on top of the spring onions. Grill on a high heat for 5 minutes until the skin shrinks slightly and becomes crispy. Turn the fillets over and grill gently for a further 5 minutes on a low to medium heat.

Whilst the fish is grilling, blanch the cloud ear in boiling water for 10 seconds. Remove and drain. Add a little vegetable oil to a wok and stir-fry the cloud ear on a very high heat for a few seconds. Add in 2 tablespoons of the wheat paste, a pinch of salt and pepper and move around the wok until the fungus becomes shiney. Divide the cloud ear equally between 2 plates. Over a very low heat, gently deep-fry the leeks for 2 minutes. Turn up the heat to maximum and continue to deep-fry until lightly golden. Remove from the wok and drain on kitchen paper.

Remove the grilled fish and lightly brush the flesh side only with honey. Return the fish to the grill (skin side down) and, on a very high heat, flash grill for around 20 seconds until crispy around the edges.

Place the fillet, skin side down, on top of the cloud ear in the centre of the plate. Top with a small handful of crispy leeks. Decorate the plate with 2 wolf berries per portion, one at either end of the fillet. Serve immediately.

* These sauces can be found in in any good Asian supermarket.