When I first moved to Israel, I had my Friday night meals with a neo-Chassidic family who ate their gefilte fish hot Not hot as in too much chrain but literally hot, as in boiling

Though my hostess, a dear friend is a wonderful cook, I never asked to try. Hot gefilte fish? Yuck.

Fast forward three decades and here I am week after week serving my family’s Friday night fish straight from the hot plate (plata).

How did this come to be? Lets just chalk it up to my family’s gradual assimilation into Israeli culture (watch out Jamie Geller-you may end up cooking stuff you never believed possible) and my oldest daughter’s marriage to a Moroccan.

During the Shabbat Hatan, the festive Shabbat following the wedding (the Sephardic alternative to the aurfuf) my Moroccan born mechatensteh (an untranslatable world meaning your childs mother in law) treated us to her famous poached Tilapia . It was hot in both senses-piping and spicy.

My kids begged me to get the recipe and Machatesteh happily obliged . Over the years, I added teriyaki sauce which prompted my daughter to rename the dish “Asian Fusion Fish.” Whatever you call it, this fish is a sine qua none to Shabbat in my house. My husband loves the gravy so much that he eats it like soup.

Of course, fish is third only to to challah and kiddush wine as a pillar of the Shabbat menu. Fish reminds us of Hashem’s promise which we read about in this week’s Torah portion, not to destroy the world by water. The fact that we are eating the fish and the fish (or flood waters) aren’t devouring us is regarded by Jewish mystics as a reason to rejoice.

In Jewish tradition, fish are symbols of righteousness. The fish weren’t destroyed in the flood nor did they take refuge in Noah’s ark. They survived intact . The mystics say that the energy, caloric and otherwise derived from eating fish contains sparks of holiness. Therefore some famous Rebbes will only eat fish on Shabbat considering it too sublime for the week .

Whenever you eat it this is an easy, yummy and low fat way to enjoy the ocean’s edible bounty.

Asian Fusion Fish (to serve 8 hungry people)

6 slices of Tilapia (you can substitute sliced filleted salmon)

7 carrots

2 small potatoes

1 red or yellow pepper

1 chili pepper (de-seed if you don’t want to burn your mouth)

1 tablespoon turmeric

1 tablespoon paprika

1 tablespoon cumin

1/3 cup teriyaki sauce

1- 2 cloves of garlic left whole

Defrost fish spreading rock salt on it to remove fishiness

When the fish starts to thaw rinse

Peel carrots and potatoes and slice into small pieces

Cut peppers into small strips

2-4 large tablespoons of fresh cilantro chopped fine

Put the vegies and spices into large pan with just enough water to cover. Cook until soft (about 20 minutes)

The layer fish slices on top and continue cooking until the fish is done (another 15 minutes)

Serve warm.

Optional . Replace teriyaki with salt to taste and cover the fish with 1/3 cup olive oil mixed with 1 tablespoon of paprika