Flounder (or Lemon Sole)

We live in the land of perennial summer, right here in Kuala Lumpur, not far north of the equator, so I am guessing our flounder is lemon sole, so-called summer flounder.  All I know for sure is that it is relatively cheap, with a delicious delicate flavor and succulent white meat.

Today being Sunday, we went to drop of our recyclable goods near Carrefour Wangsa Maju (How on earth can so few people have so many empty bottles?) and popped into one of my favorite stores for fresh baguettes.  The original French managers in Carrefour have taught the bakers well. We came across two lovely flounder(s?) in the fish department and decided they looked an awful lot like lunch.

After rinsing well and making sure that the fish guys had cleaned all the scales off, I placed the two fish on top of a piece of parchment (so the fish doesn’t stick to the foil), on top of a cross of heavy duty foil, on top of a cookie sheet.  I seasoned them simply, with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, 

cutting slashes in their sides and then topping them with the leftover molho from last night.  ( I put a little bit in their tiny cavities as well. Flat fish like flounder don't have very big insides.

I closed up the foil and popped the whole tray into the pre-heated oven (425 °F) for 20 minutes. 

Not the neatest wrap job, but it worked, okay?

At that point I took it out and opened the foil, checking for doneness. The fish was still cool when I stuck a finger in the slash (I am sure that is how the fancy chefs check for doneness.) so I set my timer for another 20 minutes. The molho began to brown and the fish was cooking beautifully.   

When those 20 minutes were up, I turned the oven off and left the pan in for a further 10 minutes.

The flounder were cooked to perfection, very moist. I served them with garlic bread and salad with a simple vinaigrette. And some cold white wine. My recycle bottle box was too empty.

Enjoy!