Steamed Salmon with Savory Black Bean Sauce

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons black bean garlic sauce 
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch 
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil dark
• 2  wood ear mushrooms dried
• 1 tablespoon garlic fresh minced
• 0.5 cup green onions thinly sliced
• 0.1 teaspoon ground pepper white
• 1  to 2 jalapeño peppers thinly sliced
• 3 tablespoons sake (rice wine)
• 24 ounce salmon fillet ()
• 0.3 teaspoon salt 
• 1 teaspoon sugar 

Equipment

• wok
• steamer basket

Directions

1. Soak mushrooms in hot water 20 minutes or until soft; drain and cut into thin strips.
2. Cut 3 (3/4-inch) deep lengthwise slits in each fillet.
3. Combine cornstarch, salt, and pepper; sprinkle over fish.
4. Let stand 10 minutes. Stuff mushroom strips and green onions into slits.
5. Place fish in a 9-inch pie plate.
6. Combine sake and the remaining ingredients; pour over fish.
7. Place a bamboo steamer basket in a large wok, and add water to wok to a depth of 1 1/2 inches below basket. Bring the water to a boil.
8. Place pie plate in bottom of steamer basket; cover and cook 8 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork.
9. Wine note: In this dish, the sweet earthiness of the mushrooms and black bean sauce as well as the flavor of the salmon form a perfect counterpoint to the earthy flavors and silky texture of a good pinot noir. Try Sebastiani pinot noir 2002 (Russian River Valley, California), $23, with its forestlike aromas of earth, dried leaves, and underbrush, and its seductive flavors of dried cherries, mocha, and vanilla. -Karen MacNeil