Grilled Orange Ginger Snapper

Grilled Orange Ginger Snapper

Yesterday, on one of my regular Costco runs, I came across two lonely Red Snappers calling my name. It was another 100 plus degree day and I just wanted something light and simple that would go with some lettuce wraps or my daily rice noodle salad bowl. 

This was so easy and required no measuring.  Although I did have to de-scale the fish, which only took a few minutes.  Just take a medium sized knife and run it against the scales until skin is nice and soft. Then rinse, pat dry and cut 3 diagonal slits on both sides of the fish.  Slice orange into 1/4 inch slices and save 2-3 slices to grill for garnish.  Zest the ends of the orange and rub all over the fish. Drizzle salt and garlic powder all over and in the slits.  Then slice up ginger and garlic and stuff into each slit.  You can reapply some more salt and garlic powder if you've lost some from handling the fish.  Finally spray with some non-stick spray and place on heated grill at 400-425 degrees for 20-30 minutes depending on the size of your fish.  

The easiest way to tell if your fish is cooked is to look at its skin.  You will see it go from translucent to white.  If you take it off the grill and the fish is still not completely done, have no fear.  Just stick it in the oven at 450 for a few extra mins and you should be good to go. That way you don't have to worry about overhandling the fish and breaking it up.  When you're done, garnish with grilled orange slices and cilantro.  If you  have a large white platter, this looks absolutely beautiful on it.  I criss-crossed the two fish on top of each other, added the garnish and raced to grab my camera. 

We had this with a side of Pad Thai Noodles and Roasted Green Beans and Red Peppers.  (Post coming soon!)  And definitely have a side of Ai's Fish Sauce handy.  Fish and ginger go great with fish sauce!