Steamed Plaice to eat in your Temple

My bible in the kitchen, from the very time the obsessive hobby stumbled into my life, has been the gloriously old-fashioned Hamlyn All Colour Cookbook, edited and heavily contributed to by pre-bake-off Mary Berry. How could I not trust such a book? The original copy that I picked up from a cupboard when I was much younger, is now in my bookshelf, tattered and dirty from all its long, happy use. Now it's in retirement, being called upon only when I desire a hearty throwback read.

Since then, however, I have acquired two books in the Hamlyn series, the vegetarian and best-of, both of which are thoroughly in use. After returning home from school today feeling oddly in a pretentious 'my body is a temple' mood, the dreadful insistence to eat healthily and wallow in all the nutrients and exercise I've absorbed is a ghastly state I occasionally find myself in, I foraged about for a light meals. I knew my health craving had to be satisfied. It was partly influenced after cooking my Pomegranate, Prune and Lamb Tagine earlier in the evening for a later meal, which is rich, earthy and heavy (all in a good way) , but also after a quick flick through best-of, encountering this recipe, and I gloriously had a frozen plaice to be called to action for it (I didn't defrost it because you know rebel). It satisfied my tiredness, impatience, and temple food craving.

1)Slash two small or one large plaice diagonally, about halfway through the fish, and scrub a little salt into it. Place (see what I did there) them on a heatproof plate in a bamboo steamer, and top with three finely sliced spring onions, but only the white and pale green part, and a little chunk of peeled ginger, julienned finely. Steam for about 12-15 minutes.

2)Prepare a delicious sauce, which is a bit like Chinese-flavoured ketchup. Combine 1 tbsp each light soy sauce, schaoxing rice wine, tomato puree, brown sugar, and chilli sauce, and add 150ml chicken stock. Cook rapidly for 1 minute, then for a bit of body, 1 tsp cornflour slaked in a drop of water. Cook until a bit glossier and thicker, and serve with your plaice, and (bare with me) some lightly steamed green vegetables.