Teriyaki Fish with Black Rice and Vegetables

This is a dish with strong influence from hibachi, rather than being a traditional teriyaki rice bowl. I cook teriyaki sauce with the vegetables, which is not normally done in a teriyaki rice bowl, but is commonplace in American hibachi restaurants. I use black rice, which is a lot healthier than white rice. Black rice is Chinese in origin. It was called "forbidden rice" because it was forbidden to be eaten by anyone except royalty. It was believed to extend life, and given the nutrient density and high levels of antioxidants in black rice, this claim is plausible. Blackstrap molasses is another uncommon ingredient that I use a lot. Much like black rice, it's considered a superfood, and blackstrap molasses might have more health benefits than any other form of sugar, including raw organic honey. It's often consumed as a supplement. While it can be an acquired taste, I've learned to cook with it. You could always use brown sugar in this recipe instead of blackstrap molasses, though. This recipe is for pressure cooker black rice, and I recommend using a gram scale when measuring out black rice that's going to be cooked in a pressure cooker, since precision is everything. Normally you would cook black rice in a pressure cooker for 20 minutes, but a lot of people find the chewy taste of black rice off-putting. I get around this by cooking it for 40 minutes, and find this results in a light, fluffy black rice instead of chewy black rice. Feel free to cook it for the standard 20 minutes if you want black rice the traditional way.

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup dried mushrooms
• 1 cod fillet (4-5 oz)(or any white fish)
• ½ tsp Algae Cooking Club algae oil(or 1.5 tsp avocado oil)
• 1.5 oz(45g) black rice
• 3 oz(85g) water
• ¼ cup shredded pickled carrots(just let carrots soak in pickle brine overnight)
• ¼ tsp sesame seeds
• ¼ tsp fresh chives or freeze dried chives

  Teriyaki Glaze:

• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp unsulfured blackstrap molasses(I used Golden Barrel brand)
• ½ tbsp sherry vinegar
• ¾ tsp rice vinegar
• ½ tsp sesame oil
• ¼ tsp garlic powder
• ¼ tsp powdered ginger

  Vegetables:

• ½ cup shredded cabbage
• ¼ cup sliced bell pepper
• ¼ cup sliced zucchini
• 1-2 tsp tallow (for sautéing)

Instructions

• Mix the teriyaki sauce and marinate the fish: Mix the soy sauce, molasses, sherry vinegar, rice vinegar, sesame oil, garlic powder, and powdered ginger together in a bowl. Place the fish in a bowl and pour the teriyaki sauce on top. Set aside and allow to marinate.

• Rehydrate the mushrooms: Soak dried mushrooms in warm water for 20-30 minutes until softened. Slice them after rehydrating. Save the mushroom broth for later.

• Cook the rice: Place the black rice and water in a pressure cooker. Set the pressure cooker to cook on high pressure for 40 minutes.

• Cook the fish and make a teriyaki glaze: Take the fish out of the marinade. Oil a skillet(if not using algae oil, you'll need a higher amount of oil to prevent smoking) and sear it on both sides. Drop the temperature if necessary to prevent the sugar from burning. Set aside until you're near the end of cooking. Deglaze the pan with the mushroom broth. Add the teriyaki marinade. Boil the sauce until reduced to a glaze. Keep a close eye on the sauce to prevent it from burning.

• Cook the vegetables: Melt some tallow(or oil) in a clean skillet and add the vegetables. Cook the vegetables until softened and browned slightly, you can cover the skillet to speed up the cooking process and prevent burning. Towards the end of cooking, add part of the teriyaki glaze. If the vegetables are finished before everything else, set the pan to low heat and leave there covered.

• Finishing up: When the rice is done cooking the pressure cooker will need to naturally release steam. Bake or air-fry the seared cod at 400 degrees for 9-11 minutes until the internal temperature reaches 145 degrees while the steam releases from the pressure cooker. Place the rice in a bowl with the vegetables, top with the fish, drizzles the rest of the teriyaki glaze on top, garnish with pickled carrots, sesame seeds, and chives.