An Asian Meal for All Seasons

I’ve adapted these recipes for grouper in coconut milk and noodles with carrots from some dishes I tried at Le Colonial, a small Indochinese restaurant in St. Barth’s in the French West Indies.

This is a most appealing, upbeat meal. And although I like these dishes served hot, they are also good served at room temperature or chilled in hot weather. Snow peas make an excellent addition to the plate.

A warm orange cake served with warm orange syrup from Maya’s, a restaurant perched right on the water’s edge, is a delicious finish for the meal. For a more festive appearance, serve sliced, sugared strawberries or raspberries on the side.

Mandel is a cookbook author. Her latest book is “Celebrating the Midwestern Table” (Doubleday & Co., 1996).

ASIAN FISH PACKETS

3/4 cup light coconut milk

2 tablespoons minced ginger root

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon lime juice

1 teaspoon Asian fish sauce

3/4 teaspoon salt

4 (6-ounce) sea bass or grouper fillets, skinned

4 teaspoons minced mint leaves

The fillets should be the same thickness so they cook in the same amount of time. The packets can be prepared several hours ahead and refrigerated until ready to cook.

Combine coconut milk, ginger, sugar, lime juice, fish sauce and salt in small dish.

Center each fillet on aluminum foil and bring up sides of foil close to edges of each fillet. Top each fillet with 3 tablespoons coconut milk mixture and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon mint. Fold together edges of foil to make 4 airtight packets.

Place packets in single layer on baking sheet. Bake at 450 degrees until fish is cooked through, about 18 minutes for 1-inch-thick fillets. Serve hot, at room temperature or chilled.

4 servings. Each serving:

252 calories; 595 mg sodium; 109 mg cholesterol; 14 grams fat; 7 grams carbohydrates; 25 grams protein; 1.21 grams fiber.

THIN NOODLES WITH CARROTS, GREEN ONIONS AND CILANTRO

Salt

7 ounces capellini, broken into thirds

2 1/2 cups thinly sliced baby carrots

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 cup thinly sliced green onions

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

1 teaspoon dark sesame oil

2 teaspoons sugar

1/4 cup minced cilantro

Cilantro sprigs

Bring large pot of salted water to boil. Add capellini and carrots and boil until capellini is tender, about 4 minutes. Drain, reserving 1 cup cooking liquid.

Transfer to warm, large shallow bowl and add garlic, onions, vinegar, oil, sugar and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Add about 1/2 cup reserved cooking liquid to moisten pasta. If mixture is still too dry, add more.

Toss and adjust seasoning. Sprinkle with minced cilantro and garnish with cilantro sprigs. Serve hot, room temperature or chilled.

4 servings. Each serving:

227 calories; 312 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 2 grams fat; 45 grams carbohydrates; 7 grams protein; 0.82 gram fiber.

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I’ve used a small bundt pan, which seems just the right size for a small group. Typically, this type of cake is glazed but here, the orange syrup replaces the glaze. The cake is served gently warmed; pass the warm orange syrup in a small pitcher. Just a small amount of this thin syrup (equal to about 2 teaspoons) is drizzled over each serving. It’s a great taste.

ORANGE CAKE WITH ORANGE SYRUP

ORANGE CAKE

1 1/2 cups cake flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 egg

1 egg white

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1 tablespoon grated orange peel

1/3 cup orange juice

1/2 cup light sour cream

ORANGE SYRUP

1/4 cup sugar

1 cup orange juice

2 tablespoons butter

CAKE

Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

Beat egg, egg white, butter, sugar and orange peel with electric mixer until smooth and fluffy. Stir in orange juice and sour cream. (Note: It’s OK if batter looks curdled.) Add flour mixture and mix until smooth.

Pour into 6-cup (8-inch) bundt pan that has been greased and dusted with flour. Smooth top with spatula.

Bake at 350 degrees until browned and toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Let cool in pan 10 minutes. Gently invert onto cake rack. Cool completely. (Note: The cake can be made a day ahead and kept at room temperature or frozen up to 3 months, wrapped airtight.)

To serve, tent cake with foil and warm in 300-degree oven until just heated through, not hot, about 10 minutes. Cut into 1-inch slices and arrange 2 slices, overlapping, on each dessert plate.

ORANGE SYRUP

Bring sugar, orange juice and butter to boil in small saucepan, stirring well. Simmer, uncovered, until slightly syrupy and reduced to about 2/3 cup, about 8 minutes. (Note: Syrup can be made day ahead and refrigerated.) Serve warm in small pitcher for pouring.

8 to 10 servings. Each of 10 servings with 2 teaspoons sauce:

288 calories; 238 mg sodium; 52 mg cholesterol; 12 grams fat; 43 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams protein; 0.07 gram fiber.

Kitchen Tip

Called nam pla in Thai, nuoc mam in Vietnamese, petis in Filipino and tuk trey in Cambodian, fish sauce is the salt brine in which fish have been pickled. It has a loud fishy aroma and, in small quantities, it gives an indispensable authentic flavor to many Southeast Asian dishes. You can find fish sauce at Asian grocery stores and sometimes in the Asian sections of supermarkets.

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To save time, buy packaged baby carrots that are already peeled and ready to eat. Then you just have to slice them.

“Baja” plates from Pallets of Plates, South Pasadena.