Archive for the ‘FISH – ALL’ Category
White Bean & Tuna Salad
This comes from a good friend and is delicious. Common ingredients and takes just minutes to put together. Links to the Shortcuts are listed in the Notes section.
Ingredients
- 1 cup red onion, diced
- 2 tablespoons lime juice, and as needed, plus the zest from 1-2 limes
- 2 cans tuna in olive oil, see Step 1, (Shortcut)
- 2 cans Great Northern Beans, 15 oz cans, or 4 cups fresh cooked, Shortcut
- ½ cup fresh parsley, chopped, loosely packed
- 1-2 dashes tabasco sauce, or a pinch of red pepper flakes, optional
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- salt, as desired, to taste
- olive oil, as needed
Instructions
- For the tuna, if using canned in olive oil, 185 grams each can (5-6 oz each can) or 250 grams fresh cooked.
- Dice the onion and splash just a bit of the lime juice on them and toss together, this will cut back on some of the strong flavor of the onion. Set aside.
- Drain the cans of tuna, or drain fresh cooked if needed. Add the tuna to a large mixing bowl, add drained beans, and add remaining ingredients. (I used chickpeas this time that I cooked in a pressure cooker.)
- Gently mix together.
- Taste, if dry, mix in some olive oil to get the desired consistency. Season with salt, Tabasco or red pepper flakes as desired.
- Cover tightly and place in the fridge to chill and to allow the flavors to blend.
- Serve as a light meal for lunch or dinner or as a side dish. Enjoy.
Notes
Low cost per serving.
Shortcuts: Great Northern Beans (Pressure Cooker), Fresh Tuna, Chickpeas (Pressure Cooker).
Variant: 1. Use chickpeas in place if Great Northern beans.
Shrimp in Coconut Milk (Ginataang Hipon)
This comes from a good friend who has traveled throughout the Philippines, which is where this originates. For the black pepper leaves, in the US, some farmers markets will sell these, if you cannot find them, fresh spinach or bok choi works well also. Two methods are listed, the alternate method is a more localized type for Thailand with added fish and using local vegetables. I made the alternate method, and it is delicious!
Ingredients
Original Method
- 1 kilo shrimp, shelled, deveined, tails removed, (2 lb)
- 2 cups coconut milk
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup fresh pepper leaves, these are black pepper leaves, or any leafy vegetable like fresh spinach or bok choi.
- salt and black pepper, to taste
Alternate Method
- 500 grams shrimp, shelled, deveined, tails removed, (1 lb)
- 500 grams white fish fillets, cut into 1 inch pieces, Pangasius is perfect, (1 lb)
- 1 bag soup fixings, from local market
- 3 cups coconut milk
- 2 cups water
- 1 teaspoon pork broth powder
- salt and black pepper, as desired
Instructions
Original Method
- In a medium pot, add the water and coconut milk. Bring to a boil then add the shrimp, reduce to a simmer. Season with salt and black pepper as desired.
- When the shrimp are pink (do not overcook the shrimp), remove from heat.
- Stir in the pepper leaves or other leafy vegetable, spinach or bok choi would be good choices.
- When the greens are wilted, serve.
Alternate Method
- With this method, I reduced the shrimp to 500 grams (1 lb) and added 500 grams of Pangasius, which is a nice firm white fish. Also used is a bag of soup fixings from the market, the green leafy parts in this are the leaves from a vine that grows wild and is foraged for everyday.
- Open the bag of soup fixings and give everything a good rinse. This bag contained carrot, pumpkin, bottle gourd, winter melon, leaves from a vine make up most of this, and oyster mushrooms.
- In a medium pot, add the water and coconut milk. Bring to a near boil then add the soup fixings, pork broth powder, and season with salt and pepper as desired.
- When it nearly boils again, reduce to a simmer and let this cook for about 10 minutes.
- Add the fish and shrimp and stir in. When the shrimp are pink (do not overcook the shrimp), just turn off the heat, leaving the pot on the burner, and cover with a lid. After about 5 minutes, the soup is done, but can remain covered while you prepare other items. I made some rice so I just let the pot sit.
- Ladle into bowls and enjoy.
- I served this with a side of Persian Dill Rice.
Notes
I recently bought 1 kilo (2 lbs) of shrimp from a local vendor for 70 Baht. For 4 servings, this is about 53 cents per serving. Adding variants can increase the price slightly if decreasing the amount of shrimp, like when adding fish, but certainly less than $1 per serving.
Variant: 1. Add Straw mushrooms, sliced in half.
White Fish & Vegetable Casserole
This comes from a good friend and sounds delicious. The fish can be Tilapia, Pangasius, Barramundi, Cod, etc. Link to the Shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
For the Fish
- 2 kilos white fish fillets, your choice, boneless, skinless
- olive oil, as needed
- 1 tablespoon ketchup
- 1 tablespoon mayo
For the Marinade
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup buttermilk, (Shortcut)
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
For the Vegetables
- 2 medium bell peppers, red, yellow, or orange
- 2 medium carrots
- 1 medium onion
Instructions
- Rinse the fillets and shake off excess water, place in a large zip lock bag. In a mixing bowl, mix together the Marinade ingredients and pour into the zip lock bag. Squeeze out all the air as possible, squish the fish around to coat them and place in the fridge for 90 minutes to marinate.
- Prep the vegetables. Slice the onion in half from top to bottom, then thinly slice each half. Slice the bell peppers into thin strips. And finally, shred the carrot.
- Heat a splash of olive oil in a large non stick pan on medium heat. When hot, add the onion and cook until they are soft, about 2-3 minutes, then add the carrot and bell peppers, stir together and cook until the carrots and peppers are softened yet the peppers still crunchy, about 4 minutes or so. Remove the vegetables to a plate and set aside, and set the pan aside as well.
- Preheat your oven to 190 C (375 F) and get out a large baking dish, like a 7x11 or 9x13 dish.
- After the fillets are done marinating, remove the fillets to a strainer to drain and discard the marinade. Now take that same pan you used, heat another splash of olive oil on medium high heat.. When the oil is hot, fry the fillets, work in batches if needed. Just fry to lightly brown both sides, about 2 minutes per side. You are not trying to cook them through, just lightly browned.
- Now take half of the vegetable and spread in an even layer on the bottom of the baking dish.
- Place the fillets on the vegetables, slightly overlap them if needed to get all the fillets in the dish.
- Mix together the ketchup and mayo in a small bowl, and brush this evenly onto the fillets.
- Spread the remaining vegetables evenly over the fillets. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Cover the dish with foil, now we are going to steam the fish for the final cooking. Bake for 15 minutes.
- Serve with mashed potatoes and butter or buttered egg noddles for a perfect meal.
Notes
Low cost per serving.
Shortcut: Buttermilk.
Variants: 1. Use Sriracha in place of the ketchup. 2. Add sliced mushrooms to vegetables.
This recipe for Tilapia and Vegetable Casserole is from Natasha's Kitchen.
Simple Fried Mackerel
Mackerel is an oily fish and is delicious without any sauces or special ingredients. This is the classic English way to prepare mackerel fillets with skin on. Three ingredients and about 2-3 minutes of cooking time is all that is needed. Overcooking mackerel will result in dry fish, so we do not want to do that.
Ingredients
- 2 mackerel fillets, skin on, pin bones removed
- salt, as desired
- olive oil, as needed
Instructions
- Here is my mackerel, these come frozen, two fillets to a pack, no bones are removed. First thing I did after this photo was remove the rib bones.
- Check the fillets and see if the pin bones have been removed, run a finger down the center line of each fillet, you will feel pin bones sticking up. Remove with needle nose pliers or just make an angled cut the length of the fillet, without going through the skin, on each side of the row of bones, then simply remove the strip of bones. Pat the fillets dry with paper towels. To make it easier to handle the fillets, cut each fillet in half crosswise, giving you 4 pieces, if desired.
- Heat 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil, I used ghee, in a non stick pan. When the oil is hot, season the flesh side of the fillets with salt as desired. Place the fillets in the pan skin side down, if the fillets are curling upwards, just use your fingers and hold them down flat for a few seconds to make sure the skin maintains contact with the pan (this ensures nice and tasty skin). Cook for 1-2 minutes depending on the thickness.
- Once the skin is crispy and golden brown, turn the fillets over and remove the pan from heat, let cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute.
- Serve skin side up immediately. Enjoy with sides of your choice.
Notes
I have frozen mackerel fillets in the freezer, don't know what I paid for them, not too much, but I will verify this when I go to Tesco in town again. For now I will say Low cost per serving.
Fish in Coconut Milk
This is a quick recipe with minimum ingredients. Nothing short of an excellent way to prepare white fish! I made this on 8 Dec 2018 and used two large Pangasius fillets, my wife and I really loved this, this will be a regular for sure now. Link to the Shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 2-3 whitefish fillets
- 1/2 cup fine bread crumbs, (Shortcut)
- 1/2 - 1 teaspoon paprika
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1 1/2 cups coconut milk, or to cover
- fresh parsley, chopped, as desired
Instructions
- For the fish, good choices in Thailand would be Pangasius (Shark Catfish), Barramundi, and Tilapia. For those in the US / Canada, good choices can be Tilapia, catfish, whitefish, bass, drum, cod, grouper, snapper, redfish, etc.
- Rinse the fillets, don't dry them, and to make them easier to manage in a pan, cut each fillet in half crosswise to make 2 smaller fillets.
- Mix together the bread crumbs and paprika in a shallow bowl. Roll the fillets in the crumbs to coat them well. I used two large fillets, each cut in half to make 4 pieces, easier to manage.
- Heat the butter in a large non stick pan on medium heat. In a separate saucepan, heat the coconut milk to a near boil.
- When the butter is hot, brown the fillets on each side, work in batches if needed, then when all are browned, return all the fillets to the pan.
- By this time, the coconut milk should be at a near boil, or boiling, pour that evenly over the fish in the pan. The fish should be covered or near covered, let this simmer for 3-4 minutes, the fish should easily flake with a fork.
- Sprinkle with parsley as desired and serve.
Notes
Low cost per serving.
Shortcut: Bread Crumbs.
Recipe adapted from Just A Pinch Recipe Club, Martha Price, and the original recipe is here.
United States.
United States.
Fried Golden Pomfret Steaks
I have seen these fish, Golden Pomfret, at Tesco in town a few times, did some recipe research and bought two of them yesterday and prepared them for dinner. This was a new type of fish I and my wife have not had before. The recipes I read were everything from simple to more seasonings than you could shake a stick at. I kept it simple. You will learn some fish anatomy with this guide as well. This is an excellent tasting fish but on the costlier side per serving. Link to the Shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 2 whole Golden Pomfret
- lemon pepper, as desired
- tempura flour, as needed
- lard, or cooking oil, for frying, Shortcut
Instructions
- From the store, these were frozen and on display. Two Golden Pomfret, these are ocean fish. First thing we need to do is clean them, and this is easy as they have tiny scales. You can do this in the kitchen sink under running water without making a mess. Rinse the fish off, then take a spoon and scrape from the tail to the head, the skin will be smooth where there is no scales, this takes just a minute or two per fish. After they are scaled, rinse them off one more time.
- Now we are going to cut each fish into steaks, fishmongers worth their weight in salt will know this as a troncon cut. A troncon cut is a fancy way of saying steak cut or steak fillet cut. First thing, cut off the dorsal fin, the long part of the fin on the back, then cut off the pointy fin on the bottom, the anal fin. Now cut just behind the pectoral fin, the fin on the side, right behind the head, cut straight through at a bit of angle, as shown. Continue to make cuts, about 3/4 inch wide and you should have 5 pieces of 'steaks'. Discard the head and tail. Now remove the innards from the first 2 or pieces, then cut the belly flap straight through. For the 2-3 pieces with the innards, remove the liver from the backbone, for this fish, this is actually easy and it comes out cleanly, discard that. I thought this photo was humorous.
- Here is what I have from 2 pomfret. This is destined more as a sampler to see what these fish taste like.
- To cook, all I did was sprinkle lemon pepper on all sides and rub that it.
- Next was to roll in tempura flour until fully coated.
- Heat lard or cooking oil, about ¼ to ½ inch in a large pan. When it is hot but not smoking, add some flour coated fish, work in batches. For the last 'steak', lay that on its side and cook that way. When the bottom is nicely browned, use tongs and turn each piece over.
- When the other sided is browned remove to paper towels to drain.
- Serve with sides of your choice. Three pieces with sides makes a nice meal for one person, if making these like for a fish fry, think about 1-2 fish per person.
Notes
Fair value per serving. Each fish is 65 Baht, $1.96, each fish weighs 300 to 400 grams (11 to 14 oz). For 3 servings, this is about $1.32 per serving, which is excellent for visiting family that may not be familiar with this type of fish. This will be a once in a while fish for us now.
Shortcut: Lard.
Tempura Sardines
This sounds really good, and is on my to cook and taste list. This is Malaysian in nature. Link to the Shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 1 tin sardines in olive oil, (120 g / 4¼ oz, Ayam or any brand), Shortcut
- 2 spring onions, sliced, white and green parts
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 red chili, seeded and finely sliced, optional
- ½ teaspoon white pepper powder
- salt and sugar, to taste
- 100 grams tempura flour, (4 oz)
- 200 ml ice water, (bit over ¾ cup)
- cooking oil, for frying
Instructions
- Mix the batter by adding the tempura flour to a mixing bowl and adding ½ cup of ice water, stir to make a thick batter, add water a tablespoon at a time to make the batter with a dripping consistency.
- Open the tin of sardines and drain the olive oil into a small bowl, remove sardines and split each in half.
- Heat some oil in a pan, about ¾ inch for a minimal deep fry. When the oil is hot but not smoking, dip the sardines in the batter and let the excess drip off, then deep fry until golden brown and crispy, work in batches. Remove to paper towels to drain.
- In another pan, heat the olive oil from the sardines, when hot, add the garlic and chili if using, until fragrant. Add the spring onion and the tempura sardines. Toss with salt as desired, the white pepper, and sugar as desired.
- Serve.
Notes
Low cost per serving.
Shortcut: Sardines in Olive Oil (Slow Cooker).
Sardine & Cheese Wontons
This recipe comes from the Ayam brand website in Malaysia. I will verify the number of wontons made for this. Link to the Shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes sections.
Ingredients
- 1 tin sardines in olive oil, (120 g / 4¼ oz, Ayam or other brand), Shortcut
- 2 packages wonton skins
- 50 grams cheese, your choice, cut into small cubes, (1¾ oz)
- 2 spring onions, finely sliced, white and green parts
- 50 grams carrot, finely diced (1¾ oz)
- salt and pepper, as desired, to taste
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- cooking oil, for frying
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, add the sardines and the oil from the tin. Mash with fork and mix in the oil.
- Add the carrot and spring onion and mix in, season with salt and pepper to taste if desired. (I use a mandolin with a julienne blade and chop after, resulting in a fine dice.)
- Beat the egg in a small bowl and set that near you. Place a wonton skin on your work surface with a corner pointed towards you.
- Place a teaspoon of the sardine mixture in the center of the skin, place a cube of cheese on top. Brush the 2 edges of the skin that are farthest away from you with some beaten egg.
- Take the corner closest to you and fold away from you to the opposite corner and pat down the edge to seal the wonton. Set the wonton on a plate, there, you just made a wonton.
- Repeat using the rest of the sardine mixture and wonton skins.
- Heat oil in a pan for shallow frying, about ½ inch oil. When hot but not smoking, add some wontons and fry until golden brown on the bottom, then turn them over and fry the other side. Remove to paper towels to drain.
- Serve and enjoy with dipping sauces of your choice.
Notes
Shortcut: Sardines in Olive Oil (Slow Cooker).
Salmon Gravlax III
This recipe for Gravlax comer from a very reliable source that tests, adjusts, and tastes the dishes they prepare. Gravlax is a Scandinavian/Swedish way of preserving salmon. This is not a cooked dish, just cured. Link to the Shortcut is listed in the Notes section.
Equipment
- Cheesecloth
Ingredients
For the Brine
- 1 kilo center cut salmon fillet, pin bones removed, (2 lb)
- 2 cups buttermilk, Shortcut
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
For the Dry Cure
- 2 cups fennel fronds, chopped
- 1 tablespoon dried dill
- 1 tablespoon dried tarragon
- 1 teaspoon ground white pepper
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 cup kosher salt
- ¾ cup sugar
- ¼ cup cognac, more or less to taste, optional
Instructions
- Using a non reactive bowl (such as glass, stainless steel, ceramic, or plastic), stir together the buttermilk and salt then add the fillet, ensure the fillet is covered with milk. Set this aside to soak for 20 to 30 minutes.
- While the fish is soaking, mix together the Dry Cure ingredients except the cognac, in a mixing bowl.
- When the fish is ready, remove from the buttermilk and rinse off the brine under running water, then pat dry with paper towels, be gentle with the fillet so as not to damage it. Discard the buttermilk brine.
- Place the large piece of cheese cloth in the bottom of a non reactive baking dish, a Pyrex or ceramic dish would be ideal for this. Pour half of the dry cure mix in the middle of the cheesecloth and spread it out to just a bit larger than the fillet you have.
- Place the fillet on to of the dry cure, skin side down. add the remaining dry cure mix on top of the fillet and spread it out evenly to totally cover the fillet, top, bottom, and sides should all be covered.
- Gently wrap the fillet with the cheesecloth, ending with the skin side down once again, in the middle of the baking dish. We'll call this a salmon package now.
- Sprinkle on the cognac if using, this is optional.
- Place a piece of plastic wrap on top of the "salmon package".
- Now place a heavy plate on top of the package and place a large canned item on the plate. The weight helps with more even curing.
- Place the baking dish, with the plate and canned item, in the fridge. At 12 hours, remove the baking dish, remove the plate with the canned item, remove the plastic wrap and discard. Flip the package over, place another piece of plastic wrap on the package and return the plate and canned item back on top of the plastic wrap. Place the baking dish back in the fridge.
- Repeat this for a minimum of 2 days, if the fillet is thick, like over 2 inches thick, continue this process for 3 days.
- Once the 2 or 3 days have passed, remove the baking dish from the fridge and place the salmon package on a cutting board, unwrap the cheesecloth and gently brush away the dry cure using a paper towel, DO NOT rinse the fish. Now you have Gravlax.
- Using a very sharp knife, slice the fillet across the grain at a 45 degree angle, then off the skin. Slice thinly, about ⅛ inch thick.
- Serving idea is on bagels with cream cheese, capers, red onion, and fresh dill. Or on rye bread. Or with eggs as a breakfast.
Notes
I cannot price this until I go to Makro again as that is the only store I know that carries large pieces of salmon. For now I will say High cost per serving.
Safety Note: Most times the salmon you will buy is frozen or was previously frozen, perfectly acceptable. If wanting to make this with fresh salmon, it is highly recommended you freeze the salmon first at -17° C (0° F) or colder for at least 48 hours to kill off any parasites that may be in the fish.
Shortcut: Buttermilk.
Variants: 1. Feel free to use fresh herbs instead of dried, or herbs of your choosing, such as fresh dill in place of the fresh fennel. 2. Change the sugar (white) to light brown, as long as you keep the amounts of salt and sugar the same, as that is key in the curing process for this.
Teriyaki Salmon, Chicken, or Tofu
This is a 'make the amount you want' guide and is a basic way to use real Japanese teriyaki sauce. As the title states, use either salmon, chicken, or tofu, and each item will have separate instructions. Link to the Shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- salmon steaks, or chicken thighs, or firm tofu
- cornstarch, as needed
- Teriyaki sauce, Shortcut
- salt and pepper, as needed
- sake, as needed
Instructions
Teriyaki Salmon
- Heat a non stick pan with 2-3 tablespoons of cooking oil, season the salmon steaks on both sides with salt and pepper as desired then coat with flour. When the oil is hot, add the salmon and cook for 3 minutes or until nicely browned.
- Turn salmon over and add 1 tablespoon of sake, cover the pan and cook for 3 minutes more.
- Spoon some teriyaki sauce over the salmon and turn to coat.
- Serve, optionally spoon some teriyaki sauce over the top of the salmon when serving.
Teriyaki Chicken
- Heat a non stick pan with 2-3 tablespoons of cooking oil, season the skin on chicken thighs on both sides with salt and pepper as desired then coat with flour. When the oil is hot, add the chicken and cook until nicely browned.
- Turn the chicken over and cook until the chicken is cooked through.
- Remove chicken, pour out oil and wipe with a paper towel, return the chicken to the pan, spoon some teriyaki sauce over the chicken and turn to coat.
- Serve, optionally spoon some teriyaki sauce over the top of the chicken when serving.
Teriyaki Tofu
- Firm tofu comes in a brine, first thing you have to do is drain off the liquid, and gently press it to remove any excess moisture. You can also microwave the tofu for 1 minute.
- Cut the tofu into slabs or cubes, Add some cornstarch to a mixing bowl, add the cubed or slabbed tofu and shake and toss to lightly coat.
- Heat a non stick pan with 2-3 tablespoons of cooking oil on medium high heat, when hot, add the tofu cooking on both sides for slabs or all sides for cubes until golden brown.
- Spoon teriyaki sauce over the tofu and turn to coat. Place tofu in a serving bowl.
- Serve, optionally spoon some teriyaki sauce over the top of the tofu when serving. Enjoy.
Notes
Low cost.
Shortcut: Teriyaki Sauce (照り焼きのたれ).