Hake Karaage With Brown Rice And Japanese-Style Mayo

Rinse your brown rice, add it to a pot (with a matching lid) with plenty of cold water and bring to the boil over a high heat

Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium and cook for 20-25 min or until it's tender with a slight bite

Once cooked, drain, return it to the pot and keep covered until serving

Meanwhile, slice your hake fillet[s] into large pieces

Peel and finely chop (or grate) half of your garlic (you'll use the rest later!)

Peel your ginger (scrape the skin off with a teaspoon) and chop (or grate) finely

Add the chopped ginger, chopped garlic, soy sauce and 1 tsp [1 1/2 tsp] [2 tsp] sugar to a bowl – this is your marinade

Add the hake pieces and give everything a good mix up, then set aside until later

Meanwhile, wash then cut your pak choi in half, separating the white base and green tops, then pat it dry with kitchen paper

Peel and slice the remaining garlic finely

Add your mayo and rice vinegar to a bowl and combine – this is your Japanese-style mayo

Heat a large, wide-based pan (preferably non-stick) with a drizzle of vegetable oil over a high heat

Once hot, add the pak choi white base, toasted sesame seeds and sliced garlic with a small pinch of salt and cook for 3-4 min or until the pak choi has started to soften, then add the pak choi green tops and cook for a further 1 min or until wilted

Transfer the cooked pak choi to a plate and reserve the pan for later

Meanwhile, add your cornflour to a bowl

Add the marinated hake pieces, leaving most of the marinade behind

Give everything a good mix up so the hake pieces are fully coated in cornflour

Return the pan to a high heat with enough vegetable oil to cover the bottom of the pan

Once hot, add the coated hake pieces (cooking for 3 or more? You may need to do this in 2 batches!) and cook for 3-4 min on each side or until browned – this is your hake karaage

Tip: Your fish is cooked once it turns opaque and flakes easily