Archive for the ‘FISH – ALL’ Category
Ginger Steamed Sardines
April 4, 2018 Lee
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Ginger Steamed Sardines

Ayam Brand, Malaysia.
Sounds very good. I look forward to making this. I do list a shortcut for homemade sardines in olive oil, but that is not really a cost saver due to the cost of olive oil. Link to the shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Course Lunch, Main Dish
Cuisine Malaysian
Servings 2 servings

Equipment

  • Steamer
  • Steamer Handles

Ingredients
  

  • 1 tin sardines in olive oil, (120 g / 4¼ oz, Ayam or any brand)
  • ½ inch fresh ginger, grated
  • 1 spring onion, sliced, green and white
  • 2 tablespoons cooking oil
  • 3 tablespoons water
  • 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
  • sugar, to taste

Instructions
 

  • Heat your steamer. I will use my tiny rice cooker with a steamer tray. You can also use a pot and a steamer basket.
  • Drain the oil from the tin into a small bowl. Remove the sardines from the tin, split in half and arrange on a heat proof dish.
  • Mix the ginger and spring onion (keep a pinch of the spring onion aside for garnish) with the oil from the tin to make a paste.
  • Heat the oil in a small pan and cook the paste until fragrant.
  • Pour the oil mixture over the sardines and place the dish in your steamer. Cover and steam for 5 minutes.
  • While the sardines are steaming, using the same pan the oil was heated in, add the soy sauce and water and heat that up, add sugar to taste.
  • When the sardines have steamed for 5 minutes, carefully remove the dish, pour the soy sauce mixture over the sardines, serve and enjoy.

Notes

One tin of sardines in olive oil at Tesco is 59 Baht. For 2 servings, this is about 46 cents per serving.
Shortcuts: Sardines in Olive Oil.
* Best Value $1 or Less per Serving,FISH - ALL,Fish - Sardines
Sardine Salad Sandwich
April 3, 2018 Lee
3 Comments

Sardine Salad Sandwich

Adapted from an internet recipe.
Very good, easy sandwich to make if you like sardines. Links to the shortcuts are listed in the Recipe Notes section.
5 from 2 votes
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Prep Time 5 minutes
Total Time 5 minutes
Course Lunch, Main Dish
Cuisine American
Servings 2 sandwiches

Ingredients
  

  • 1 tin sardines in olive oil, (120 g / 4¼ oz, Ayam or any brand), Shortcut
  • 1 tablespoon mayo, and more for the bread
  • 1 tablespoon pickles, chopped, Shortcut
  • 4 slices bread
  • 1 tomato, sliced
  • lettuce leaves
  • 1-2 hard boiled egg, sliced, Shortcut
  • salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions
 

  • Drain the sardines and place in a bowl, add the mayo and chopped pickle. Mix with a fork, mashing up the sardines. If using homemade sardines, use about 3 pieces.
  • Lay out the 4 slices of bread, spread mayo on each slice. On 2 slices, add a layer of sliced tomato, divide sardine mixture on top of the tomato, top that with lettuce leaves, then add a layer of sliced egg, season with salt and pepper as desired. Top with a slice of bread, mayo side down. Cut in half and enjoy.

Notes

One tin of sardines in olive oil at Tesco is 59 Baht. For two sandwiches, 1 per serving, this is about 92 cents per serving. 
Shortcuts: Fridge Pickles, Perfect Hard Boiled Chicken Eggs, Steamed Eggs, Sardines in Olive Oil.
Variant: 1. Use a good amount of softened cream cheese on the bread in place of the mayo.
#1 Go-To Recipes,* Best Value $1 or Less per Serving,BURGERS & SANDWICHES,FISH - ALL,Fish - Sardines
Thai Fish Cakes
February 25, 2018 Lee
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Thai Fish Cakes

This comes from a good friend and sounds delicious. You can prepare the fish two ways, 1. with a food processor, or 2. with a meat grinder and your hands, I will use the second way. On my to cook list.
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 6 minutes
Total Time 46 minutes
Course Side
Cuisine Thai
Servings 0

Ingredients
  

  • 500 grams whitefish, any will do fine, (1 lb)
  • 1 tablespoon Thai red curry paste
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1 teaspoon brown sugar, or cane sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 80 grams fresh long beans, finely chopped, (2 3/4 oz)
  • 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, chopped
  • 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1-2 teaspoons kaffir lime leaves, finely chopped, optional but recommended
  • lime wedges, for garnish if desired

Instructions
 

For Food Processor Use

  • Put the fish in your food processor and process until coarsely chopped, then add the curry paste, egg, sugar, salt, and corn starch and process until well blended. Stir in the beans, cilantro, and kaffir lime leaves (if using those).

For Meat Grinder & Hands Use

  • Run the fish through your meat grinder using the coarse plate (the wagon wheel). With the ground fish in a mixing bowl, add the curry paste, egg, sugar, salt, and corn starch and mix with your hands to completely mix everything together. Stir in the beans, cilantro, and kaffir lime leaves (if using those).

Continuing On...

  • Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 30 minutes.
  • After 30 minutes have passed, get the bowl and shape fish mixture in balls then flatten to make the fish cakes.
  • Heat the oil in a non stick pan, when the oil is hot, add the fish cakes (in batches) and cook for about 3 minutes on each side or until golden brown.
  • Garnish with lime wedges. Serve as a side with any Thai main dish, such as a curry over rice.

Notes

Low cost.
Recipe and photo provided by good friend, Khanthary Singnhoth, and her recipe is here.
United States.
* Best Value $1 or Less per Serving,: THAI,FISH - ALL,Fish - White Fish,SIDES
Thai Fish Curry
February 19, 2018 Lee
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Thai Fish Curry

Rrayada Thayer, Thailand.
I seen my wife make this today using imported Italian Mackerel, and local sourced ingredients. Seems like a lot of steps but this actually goes together quite fast overall. The coconut milk is made from fresh grated coconut, use canned if you like. Measurements are very approximate as no actual measurements are made, what is listed is my best guesses.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Course Lunch, Main Dish
Cuisine Thai
Servings 4 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 500 grams shredded coconut, fresh, not bagged
  • 6 whole Italian Mackerel, gutted, tails removed, 6-8 inches each
  • 2 handfuls lime leaves, finely sliced
  • 2-3 tablespoons chili paste
  • 2-3 tablespoons shrimp paste
  • 2-3 tablespoons fresh tamarind
  • cooked rice, for serving

Instructions
 

  • With the fresh shredded coconut, you are going to make coconut milk. to do this, place the coconut in a large bowl and cover with water. Squeeze the shred and the water will become milky. Do this for about 5-10 minutes, really squeezing the clumps of shred, then grab some shred and hold it above the bowl and squeeze it dry, discard the clump, now you have a bowl of coconut milk, almost, you are not done yet.
  • Place a strainer over a bowl and pour the milk into the strainer, tap the strainer and move the contents a bit with your fingers to get the liquid out, you are now removing any of the remaining shred from the milk. For the remaining shred, pick that up and squeeze dry as well.
  • The end result is fresh coconut milk, this is just one bowl, we used two, goal is 3-4 cups of milk total.
  • Now get your ingredients together. Here is one of the two bowls of coconut milk, chili paste, shrimp paste, and the lime leaves (before slicing).
  • Fish used is Italian Mackerel. We bought these are Tesco, sold by the piece, not weight, 90 Baht for 6 fish.
  • Clean the fish by scaling, the scales are very small and this goes quickly, then gut each and cut the tails off. (If you want to remove the heads, feel free to do so.)
  • Add about ⅔ of the coconut milk to a pan, and add the chili paste and shrimp paste. Put on medium heat.
  • While the milk is heating up, slice up the lime leaves. Grab the handful or so of leaves, the younger bright green ones are preferred, hold in a tight bundle, and slice. Not looking for perfection here, just get most of them thinly sliced. Set this aside.
  • With the milk now hot, stir to mix in the chili and shrimp pastes. Let this simmer, low boil, for about 10 minutes. You just made a curry.
  • Then add the fish in a single layer.
  • Now pour in the remaining coconut milk and sort of mix that in, let this simmer for about 10 minutes.
  • This is fresh tamarind, it is like a paste, the stones (seeds), and the string fibrous part is still in this. To this, add a little water, about 1/4 cup and squish this up to soften it.
  • Remove the fish to another pan.
  • To the pan with the curry, hold a strainer over the pan and pour in the tamarind mush into the strainer, move the mush about with your hand to get the tamarind liquid into the pan, when the all the liquid is strained out from the tamarind mush, discard the strainer contents. Stir the tamarind liquid into the curry then add the sliced lime leaves and stir that in.
  • Pour the curry over the fish in the second pan, add a few whole lime leaves, bring this to a simmer for 2-3 minutes.
  • Place a few fish in a bowl, spoon some curry over the top and ready to serve.

Notes

The fish cost 90 Baht for 6 fish. For 4 servings, this is about 68 cents per serving.
* Best Value $1 or Less per Serving,: THAI,FISH - ALL,Fish - Mackerel
Cornmeal Whitefish I
February 7, 2018 Lee
1 Comment

Cornmeal Whitefish I

The only time I have eaten fish coated in cornmeal was catfish in Tennessee, and that was years ago. Time to change this I will use shark catfish but it has a whitefish flavor, not at all like catfish. This is make as much as you want recipe, no servings, times, or quantities are listed for this (read that as simple).
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Course Main Dish
Cuisine American
Servings 0

Ingredients
  

  • whitefish fillets, figure 1-2 fillets per peron
  • all purpose flour
  • eggs
  • cornmeal
  • cayenne pepper
  • salt and pepper
  • cooking oil

Instructions
 

  • Cut your whitefish fillets in half if you like, easier to manage that way.
  • Place 3 shallow bowls on the counter, place some flour in the first bowl, 2-3 eggs in the next bowl and beat them with a fork, then some cornmeal in the last bowl. Add a pinch of cayenne pepper to the flour and the cornmeal.
  • Heat a large non stick pan with a good splash of cooking oil. When the oil is hot, dredge each fillet in flour and shake off excess, then in egg and shake off excess, then in cornmeal, the into the hot oil. cook until golden brown on the bottom then turn fillets over and cook until golden brown, remove to paper towels. I am cooking the fish fillets on the right, my wife is cooking wontons on the left.
  • When all the fillets are cooked, serve with a vegetable and a salad for a nice meal.

Notes

For the fish, go with about 130 Baht/1 kilo of Pangasius fillets. For 4 servings, this is about 96 cents per serving.
Inspired by seeing cornmeal coated fish photos from a number of good friends.
#1 Go-To Recipes,* Best Value $1 or Less per Serving,FISH - ALL,Fish - White Fish
Tuna & Rice (Rice Cooker)
January 24, 2018 Lee
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Tuna & Rice (Rice Cooker)

Adapted from an internet recipe.
This recipe has me interested, I will write this using fresh tuna and cooked mainly in a rice cooker, no need to cook the rice the stove top way. You will use your rice cooker primarily for this dish.
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Course Main Dish, Side
Cuisine American
Servings 4 servings

Equipment

  • Rice Cooker

Ingredients
  

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 onion, finely diced
  • 1½ cups dry Jasmine rice
  • 3 cups chicken stock, fresh or from powder
  • 1 cup frozen peas
  • 1 cup frozen corn
  • 226 grams tuna, flaked, canned drained or fresh cooked, (8 oz), Shortcut
  • 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

Instructions
 

  • Turn your rice cooker to Cook setting, heat the oil in rice cooker pot, add the onion and sauté for about 3 minutes until it is soft and translucent.
  • Add the rice and stir to coat with oil and the rice grains are glassy, about 1 minute.
  • Add the chicken stock, cover, and let it runs the full Cook cycle.
  • About 10 minutes into the cook cycle, fold in the peas and corn then cover again and continue to cook to complete the cook cycle.
  • Drain the tuna, this can be canned or fresh cooked, and flake with a fork. Fold in the tuna and parsley into the rice, cover and let sit for 5 minutes on Warm setting on the rice cooker.
  • Serve, this can be a hearty side dish or a main meal.

Notes

Low cost.
Shortcut: Fresh Tuna.
* Best Value $1 or Less per Serving,FISH - ALL,Fish - Rice Cooker,Fish - Tuna,Sides - Rice Cooker
Basic Salmon Patties
December 19, 2017 Lee
1 Comment

 

Basic Salmon Patties

Adapted from an internet recipe.
When I was growing up, these were a common staple for a dinner. Here is Thailand, the large cans of salmon are very high priced, so I will work this up with frozen salmon that I steam and will come up with a cost per serving when I make this. Links to the shortcuts are listed in the Recipe Notes section.
5 from 1 vote
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Course Main Dish
Cuisine American
Servings 4 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 1 can salmon, drained, (14¾ oz / 418 g), Shortcut
  • ½ small onion, diced
  • 1 tablespoon fresh dill, chopped or 1 teaspoon dried
  • ½ cup panko breadcrumbs, or regular breadcrumbs
  • ¼ cup mayo
  • 1 tablespoon lemon or lime juice
  • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  • olive oil, as needed

Instructions
 

  • Add all ingredients to a mixing bowl.
  • Mix together, season with salt and pepper as desired.
  • Divide mixture into 4 sections, form into 4 patties and place on a plate.
  • Heat a large skillet with a splash of oil, when the oil is hot, cook the patties about 4-5 minutes per side or until nice and golden brown.
  • Turn patties over and cook another 4-5 minutes or until golden brown. Remove patties to a serving plate.
  • Serve with sides of your choice, enjoy.

Notes

In Thailand, I will price this when I steam some salmon and prepare this. For those in the US, a store brand of canned salmon would make this about 70 cents per serving and a Best Value. 
Shortcuts: Steamed Salmon, Breadcrumbs.
# Buster Approved,#1 Go-To Recipes,* Best Value $1 or Less per Serving,FISH - ALL,Fish - Salmon
Pasta with Tuna, Lemon & Dill
November 28, 2017 Lee
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Pasta with Tuna, Lemon & Dill

Adapted from an internet recipe.
Sounds easy and tasty. On my to cook list. Feel free to use canned or fresh tuna you have cooked. Link to the shortcut is listed in the Notes section.
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Course Main Dish
Cuisine American
Servings 2 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 150 grams dry spaghetti, (5-6 oz)
  • 200 grams canned tuna, drained, flaked, (7 oz), Shortcut
  • ½ red onion, finely sliced
  • 2 tablespoons lime juice
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 bunch fresh dill, chopped
  • salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions
 

  • Bring a pot of salted water to a boil, cook the pasta until tender.
  • While the pasta is cooking, mix the remaining ingredients together in a large serving bowl, season with salt and pepper as desired.
  • When the pasta is tender, drain and add to the mixture in the serving bowl, toss to combine, serve.

Notes

Low cost.
Shortcut: Tuna.
* Best Value $1 or Less per Serving,FISH - ALL,Fish - Tuna,PASTA
Easy Fish Pie
November 28, 2017 Lee
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Easy Fish Pie

Adapted from an internet recipe.
Sounds wonderful, on my to cook list! This is very rewritten to make this user friendly. This recipe assumes you have hard boiled eggs (chicken or duck), and mashed potatoes already prepared.
Print Recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Course Main Dish
Cuisine American
Servings 4 servings

Equipment

  • Pie Dish (9 inch) , or 7 x 11 inch baking pan.
  • Oven

Ingredients
  

  • 400 grams whitefish fillets, boneless, skinless, (14 oz)
  • 400 grams salmon fillets, boneless, skinless, 14 oz)
  • 200 grams shrimp, peeled, deveined, tails removed, (7 oz)
  • 4 hard boiled eggs, peeled and quartered
  • 2½ cups milk
  • 1 small onion, quartered
  • 4 cloves, not the garlic
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 bunch fresh parsley, chopped
  • ½ cup butter
  • ½ cup all purpose flour, pinch less
  • pinch ground nutmeg, small pinch
  • 1 kilo mashed potatoes, (2 lb)
  • 1 cup Cheddar cheese, shredded

Instructions
 

  • Preheat your oven to 180° C (350° F). Get out a deep dish Pyrex pie dish or a 7x11 baking dish, I will verify when I make this.
  • To poach the fish, heat a non stick pan and add the milk, onion, bay leaves, and cloves. Heat to just before a boil, add the fish and simmer until the fish is cooked through and flakes with a fork, about 8 to 10 minutes.
  • Remove the fish to a plate, strain the milk mixture and pour into a bowl, discard the contents of the strainer.
  • Flake the fish into large pieces into the baking dish, Add the shrimp and arrange the quartered eggs on the top. Sprinkle the parsley on the top.
  • To make the sauce, melt half of the butter in a small pan, stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute, stirring, then remove from heat. Stir in the reserved milk to get a smooth sauce. Return the pot to heat and bring to a boil and cook 5 minutes, stirring continuously, until it coats the back of a spoon. Remove from heat, season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg.
  • Pour the sauce over the fish. Top the pie with mashed potatoes, push the mash right up to the edges to seal, fluff the top with a fork then sprinkle on the cheese.
  • Bake for 30 minutes then let rest for 5 minutes, serve.

Notes

Figure about 50 Baht for the whitefish, Pangasius, and about 200 Baht for salmon. For the cheese, figure about 90 Baht. For 4 servings, this is about $2.50 per serving.
* High Cost $1.51+ per Serving,FISH - ALL,Fish - Salmon,Fish - White Fish,SEAFOOD - ALL,Seafood - Shrimp/Prawn
Fish with Lemon, Butter & Caper Sauce
November 24, 2017 Lee
1 Comment

Fish with Lemon, Butter & Caper Sauce

This is a delicious fish dish! I used Pangasius for this, use any whitefish you prefer.
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Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes
Course Main Dish
Cuisine American
Servings 4 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 3-4 whitefish fillets, boneless, skinless
  • 1/4 cup tempura flour, or as needed
  • lemon pepper, as desired
  • 1/4 cup butter, divided, (1/2 stick)
  • 2 tablespoons lemon or lime juice
  • 1 teaspoon lemon or lime zest
  • 2 tablespoons capers, drained
  • 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

Instructions
 

  • Three fillets rinsed and cut in half.
  • In a shallow dish mix together the flour, salt, and pepper. Coat the fillets in flour and shake off the excess. Starting to coat the fillets in this photo.
  • Melt half the butter in a large non stick pan on medium high heat. Cook the fillets in batches, to your liking.
  • Just brown, flip, brown the other side, remove to a serving plate, cover to keep warm.
  • When the fillets are all done, same hot pan, add the remaining butter, lemon or lime juice, zest, capers, and parsley. Stir and heat for one minute. I was snap happy with the camera and took this photo before adding the capers.
  • Place 1-2 fillets on each serving plate, spoon sauce over the fish, serve with sides of your choice. Enjoy.

Notes

I use Pangasius fillets for, 3 fillets was just under a 1 kilo so I will go with the 1 kilo rate of 123 Baht. For 4 servings, this is about 90 cents per serving.
Variants: 1. In place of whitefish fillets, this would be good on salmon or tuna. 2. In place of the capers use fresh chopped dill.
Adapted from an internet recipe. 
#1 Go-To Recipes,* Best Value $1 or Less per Serving,FISH - ALL,Fish - White Fish