Kameko-san Makes Dinner - That Same Night

So far I've been planning ahead when using Kameko-san - the sous vide cooker - to do dinner. This night, though, I'd planned to grill a steak but thunderstorms threatened and I decided at the last minute to cook a black cod fillet and to warm up some previously cooked and vacuum-packed string beans with cilantro.

The cod already had been cut into individual serving pieces and vacuum-packed. So rather than unpack it, season it, and reseal the bags, I put two in, frozen, at 60C/140F, for 50 minutes (the upper range of the 40-50 minute suggested time for fatty fish). At the same time I took out the 8-oz package of string beans and left it on the counter. About 15 minutes before the fish was to come out, I put the bean pouch, still mostly frozen, in.the water bath as well.

Serving the beans was easy - I just drained the bag, plated the beans, and threw a bit of rice seasoning and some slivered almonds on top. For the fish, I drained the fillets and sauteed them in hot coconut oil just to crisp the skin. A simple sauce of yogurt with a bit of mirin and youzu kosho paste mixed in topped the fish nicely. Dinner was started at about 5:30 and finished cooking at about 6:45 with very little effort at all.

The results, though, were incredible. I'm still amazed at how buttery and flavorful everything Kameko-san touches turns out. The flesh was perfectly done - moist but flakey and full of umami. She really is Mechazawa-san's kissing cousin, even if their heating methods couldn't be more different.

And knowing I can "fire up" the water bath just as easily as starting the grill opens all manner of new possibilities.