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Steam-Cooked Perch

Erken's steam-cooked perch (1914): a whole cleaned perch is salted, laid in a flat-bottomed pot between pats of butter and coarsely chopped parsley, dusted with flour and 1 tablespoon water, and cooked covered over low heat about 45 minutes. The sauce is whisked up and served alongside.

Source: Henriette Schønberg Erken, Stor kokebok, 1914-utg. s. 111 (falt i det fri)

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About the dish

From the fish chapter of "Stor kokebok" (Great Cookbook) (1914). Erken writes that perch has tasty, fine flesh, and that the fish should be salted as soon as it is cleaned, or left half an hour in salted water. If it is to be sent a long way, it is packed in wet grass.

How to make it

  1. 1

    Prepare the fish

    Scale, clean, and wash the perch well. Rub the belly cavity with salt.

  2. 2

    Into the pot

    Put small pats of butter in the bottom of a flat-bottomed pot, scatter over coarsely chopped parsley, then lay the fish closely together on top.

  3. 3

    Cover up

    Put more butter and parsley over the fish, dust with the flour, and finally pour over 1 tablespoon of water.

  4. 4

    Steam until tender

    Put on the lid and let the fish steam over low heat, so low that it takes about 45 minutes for the fish to cook through.

  5. 5

    Serve

    Lift the fish out carefully so it stays whole. Whisk up the sauce in the pot, pour a little over the fish, and the rest into a sauce boat.

Changes from the original

Amounts are given in modern units (grams, dl, tablespoon/teaspoon). "1 spoon of water" is interpreted as 1 tablespoon, in keeping with the ingredient list. The cooking time "3/4 hour" was reconstructed from the OCR text. The method is broken into numbered steps.

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Time machine – what changed?

Pick two editions and see what Henriette Schønberg Erken added, removed or changed between them.

From19141949Modernised
To19141949Modernised
1914 (proofread, p. 111) → Modernised~85% of the text changedremovedadded
1 kg. kg abbor (hel, skrapet og renset). 100 gr. smør g smør. 1 bunt persille (grovhakket). 1 spiseske vand spiseskje vann. 2 teskeer mel teskjeer hvetemel. salt Den skrapede, rensede, vaskede fisk gnides i (etter smak). Skrap, rens og vask abboren godt. Gni buken inn med salt. I en flatbundet gryte lægges først smaabeter salt.. Legg små smørklatter i bunnen av smør, derover grovskaaren en flatbunnet gryte, strø over grovhakket persille, derpaa og legg deretter fisken tæt tett sammen oppå.. Legg mer smør og persille over denne igjen smør, persille, melet, som strøes over, fisken, strø over melet og tilsidst 1 ske vand. Smaatrækker under lok hell til slutt over 1 spiseskje vann.. Legg på lokket og la fisken trekke på svak varme, — saa svak, at der medgaar 3/4 time for varme – så svak at faa det tar omtrent 45 minutter før fisken kokt. Læg er gjennomkokt.. Løft fisken op forsigtig — hel skal forsiktig opp så den være — visp op sausen, held holder seg hel. Visp opp sausen i gryten, hell litt over fisken og resten i sausekop. en sausenebbe.

Note on Modernised

Mengder er oppgitt i moderne enheter (gram, dl, spiseskje/teskje). «1 ske vand» er tolket som 1 spiseskje, i tråd med ingredienslisten. Koketiden «3/4 time» er rekonstruert fra OCR-teksten. Fremgangsmåten er delt i nummererte trinn.

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Frequently asked questions

How long should the perch be steam-cooked?
About 3/4 hour. The heat should be so low that the fish takes this whole time to finish; it should barely simmer under the lid, not boil hard.
How much liquid is used?
Only 1 tablespoon of water. The fish steams in its own juices along with the butter, and the flour (2 teaspoons) binds the juices into a sauce.
How is the fish laid in the pot?
Use a flat-bottomed pot: first small bits of butter, then coarsely chopped parsley, then the fish closely together, and over it again butter, parsley, flour, and finally the water.
How is it served?
Lift the fish out carefully; it should be whole. Whisk up the sauce, pour a little over the fish and the rest into a sauce cup. The recipe serves 4, from Schønberg Erken's "Stor kokebok" (Great Cookbook) (1914), p. 111.

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