Archive for the ‘FISH – ALL’ Category
Whitefish & Capers
This, is really good! I have never eaten capers or cooked with them, nor has the family, I have a new found favorite now! I recently bought jar of Spanish capers that I opened and used a tablespoon of capers and juice, perfect. I made this on 15 Nov 2017, well liked and enjoyed by the family, five people.
Ingredients
- 2-3 whitefish fillets, cut in half to make 4-6 pieces
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 3 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon capers, with juice
- black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Heat a large pan with the oil over medium heat. Season the fillets with black pepper on both sides, cook the fillet pieces until just starting to brown on each side. Remove from pan. This photo is just after I turned them over.
- Same pan, add the wine and reduce a lot, then add the garlic, butter, and capers. Season with black pepper as desired. Simmer for a minute or two blend the flavors.
- Add the fillets back to the pan and spoon the sauce over them. Simmer until the fish is warmed through, and it should already flake easily with a fork.
- Serve with the sauce poured over the fish, sides could be pasta with garlic or anchovies, steamed rice, or even boiled or mashed potatoes with butter.
Notes
Two to three fillets of Pangasius (which would be my fish of choice in Thailand) would cost maybe 90 Baht. For 4 servings, this is about 68 cents per serving.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
Salmon Gravlax II (Gravad Lax)
This is the Swedish version of Gravlax, and is salmon cured with salt, sugar, white pepper, and the herb used is just dill. This is not a cooked dish, just cured.
Ingredients
To Prepare the Salmon
- 1 kilo salmon fillets, see Step 1, (2 lbs)
- ¼ cup sea salt
- 3 tablespoons white sugar
- 2 teaspoons crushed white pepper
- ½ cup fresh dill, roughly chopped
For the Sauce (Gravlaxsås)
- 2 tablespoons prepared yellow mustard
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons white sugar
- 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- ¾ cup neutral flavored oil, slightly less than ¾ cup is perfect
- salt and white pepper, to taste
- ½ cup fresh dill, finely chopped
Instructions
To Prepare the Salmon
- Ideally, you would want two 500 gram (1 lb) skin on fillets from the center cut of the fillet, remove the pin bones if that is not already done. But you can use the smaller fillets from Tesco, as what is in this photo. When I make this, I will use two of these fillets on the bottom, and two on top, just reduce the salt and sugar in equal proportions.
- Mix together the salt, sugar, and white pepper. Rub the mixture into both sides of the salmon fillets.
- Put half of the dill between the fillets, then divide up the remaining dill between the top and bottom, place in a ziplock bag and seal after removing as much as as you can. Place the bag in a backing dish and place a smaller dish on top and weight it down with some canned goods.
- Place in the fridge for 24 to 48 hours, flip the bag about every 12 hours.
- Remove from the fridge and remove from the dish. Rinse the fillet very well with cold water, and use your fingers to rub off all the salt and dill. Dry the fillets with paper towels.
- Place a fillet skin side down on your cutting board, hold your knife at a angle and slice as thin as you can down to the skin but not through the skin. Repeat with remaining fillet or fillets.
For the Sauce (Gravlaxsås)
- Mix together the mustards and sugar, stir until the sugar is dissolved. Stir in the vinegar.
- Using a mixer or food processor, very slowly add the oil, continuously mixing, start with just drops at first and when it binds (like making mayo), you can increase the amount of oil you are adding at a time. Season with salt and white pepper to taste. Mix in the dill.
- Serve with the sliced salmon as an appetizer on rye bread or with boiled potatoes for a lunch or dinner.
Notes
The salmon fillets I will use will be from Tesco, 69 Baht each for 140 to 160 gram fillets, frozen, from Norway. Initial test will be 4 fillets for a total of 276 Baht, about $8.40. I don't know the number of servings as an appetizer until I make this and I will update the pricing. 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.
Salmon Gravlax I
This is a Scandinavian dish, and is salmon cured with salt and sugar and herbs used are just dill and fennel seeds. This is not a cooked dish, just cured.
Ingredients
- 1 kilo salmon fillets, see Step 1, (2 lb)
- ¼ cup sea salt
- 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons white sugar
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 1 bunch fresh dill, roughly chopped
For Serving
- ½ purple onion, finely diced or cut in half then sliced
- ¼ cup capers, drained
- 1 lemon, cut into wedges
- fresh dill, chopped
Instructions
- Ideally, you would want two 500 gram (1 lb) skin on fillets from the center cut of the fillet, remove the pin bones if that is not already done. But you can use the smaller fillets from Tesco, as what is in this photo. When I make this, I will use two of these fillets on the bottom, and two on top, just reduce the salt and sugar in equal proportions.
- Mix together the salt, sugars, and fennel seeds. Sprinkle some of the mixture along the bottom of a glass baking dish, sprinkle some dill on that. Place half of the fillets skin side down on that.
- Sprinkle half the remaining salt mixture on the fish and half of the remaining dill. Lay the second piece or pieces of salmon on top of the salmon already in the dish, skin side up.
- Sprinkle remaining salt mixture and dill over the top of the fillet. Cover the dish with plastic wrap. Set another smaller dish on top of the fillets and weight it down with some canned goods, a brick wrapped in foil, or any kind of heavy weight.
- Place in the fridge for two days to cure, turn the fillets after one day, so the top piece becomes the bottom piece, this is to cure them evenly.
- After two days, remove from the fridge and remove from the dish. Rinse the fillet very well with cold water, and use your fingers to rub off all the salt and dill. Dry the fillets with paper towels.
- Place a fillet skin side down on your cutting board, hold your knife at a angle and slice as thin as you can down to the skin but not through the skin. Repeat with remaining fillet or fillets.
- Place the thin slices on a serving tray, sprinkle with purple onion, dill, and capers. Serve with toasted rye bread and lemon wedges.
Notes
The salmon fillets I will use will be from Tesco, 69 Baht each for 140 to 160 gram fillets, frozen, from Norway. Initial test will be 4 fillets for a total of 276 Baht, about $8.40. I don't know the number of servings as an appetizer until I make this and I will update the pricing. For now I will say High Cost per serving.
This recipe for How to Make Salmon Gravlax is from Simply Recipes.
Fish Stew with Ginger & Tomatoes
Sounds wonderful. On my to cook list for sure.
Ingredients
- 3-4 potatoes, diced, peeled is up to you
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 tablespoons fresh ginger, finely grated
- 1 clove garlic, smashed and minced
- 1 can diced tomatoes, with juice
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 3 cups chicken stock, fresh or from powder
- 1 kilo whitefish fillets, cut into 1 inch sections
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large pot, when hot, add the garlic and ginger and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute, then add the tomatoes plus juice, sugar, salt, black pepper, and red pepper. Cook and stir for about 3 minutes.
- Add the stock and potatoes, bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer. Cook for 10 minutes or until the potatoes are just fork tender.
- Stir in the fish, cover, and cook for 5 minutes or until the fish flakes with a fork. Taste and adjust salt and pepper to your liking.
- Sprinkle with parsley, serve.
Notes
Using Pangasius fillets, which are boneless and skinless, 1 kilo is about 128 Baht. For 4 servings, this is about 95 cents per serving.
This recipe for Fish Stew with Ginger and Tomatoes is from Simply Recipes.
Poached Salmon Fillets
Sounds great. This uses a shallow poaching method and from start to finish, about 15 minutes.
Ingredients
- 4 salmon fillets, as shown in Step 1
- salt, as needed
- ½ cup white wine
- ½ cup water
- 1 shallot, thinly sliced
- 3-4 sprigs fresh dill
- 1 sprig fresh parsley
- black pepper, as needed
- lemon slices, for serving, optional
Instructions
- This the type of salmon fillets I get at Tesco, 140-160 grams (5-5 oz) each. One fillet per serving is ideal.
- In a non stick pan that will hold all the fillets, add the water, wine, parsley, dill, shallots, and heat to a simmer on medium heat. While the pan is heating, season the salmon with salt on both sides.
- When the liquid is simmering, place the fillets in the pan, skin side down, cover and let steam for 5 to 10 minutes depending on thickness of the fillets or until they flake easily with a fork.
- Serve lightly sprinkled with black pepper and lemon slices if desired with rice and a vegetable on the side.
Notes
I bought 4 fillets, Norwegian import, 69 Baht for 140 to 160 gram fillets. I figured the servings as 1 fillet per serving. For 69 Baht per fillet, this is about $2.03 per serving. High cost but would be nice for a once in a while meal.
Fish Chowder II
Another good sounding fish chowder recipe. On my to cook list for sure. Fish can be Pangasius, Sea Perch, Bass, Grouper, Tilapia, etc. Clam juice may be a bit of a stretch for me to find where I live, so if no clam juice, use fish stock, or 1/2 cup chicken stock + 1/2 cup water + 2 teaspoons fish sauce for each cup of clam juice needed.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon unsalted butter
- 2 medium onions, diced
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 3 potatoes, cubed
- 2 cups clam juice
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
- 750-1000 grams whitefish fillets, boneless, skinless, cut into 1 inch cubes
- 1 1/2 cups whipping cream
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
Instructions
- Heat oil and butter in a large pot on medium heat, when hot, add onions and saute until softened, not browned, about 3 to 5 minutes. Then add the wine and increase heat and reduce the liquid by half.
- Add the clam juice, potatoes, Old Bay seasoning, bay leaf, thyme. Season with salt and pepper to taste. If the potatoes are not quite covered with liquid, add just enough water so they are covered. Bring to just a boil then reduce heat to a low simmer, cover, and cook until the potatoes are just fork tender, about 10 to 15 minutes.
- In another small pot, heat the cream until steamy but do not boil it. Stir in the fish then the cream into the large pot, and cook uncovered until the fish is cooked through and flakes easily with a fork, maybe 10 minutes or so, stir occasionally.
- When the fish is cooked through, remove from heat and stir in the parsley.
- Can serve at this point but if you let this sit for 30 minutes or so, covered, then heat to just steaming over low heat, the flavors will blend much more for a more flavorful chowder.
- Serve with bread or oyster crackers (which I am going to make as well soon).
Notes
For the fish, if you went with Pangasius, this is about 128 Baht/1 kilo. For 6 servings, this is about 63 cents per serving.
Variants: This recipe screams of variants. 1. Add shrimp, oyster meat, scallops. Remember to adjust cooking times to account for add ins. 2. Add mushrooms. 3. In place of Old Bay Seasoning, add a pinch of paprika and cayenne pepper.
This recipe for Fish Chowder is from Simply Recipes.
Easy Fish Stew
Sounds very good. Any kind of boneless and skinless whitefish works in this, think Pangasius, Sea Perch (Barramundi), Snapper, Bass, etc. Clam juice may be a bit of a stretch for me to find where I live, so if no clam juice, use fish stock, or 1/2 cup chicken stock + 1/2 cup water + 2 teaspoons fish sauce for each cup of clam juice needed.
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
- 2/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 1/2 cups fresh tomatoes, chopped
- 2 teaspoons tomato paste
- 240 ml clam juice, (8 oz bottle)
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 750 grams whitefish fillets, boneless, skinless, cut into 1 to 1 1/2 inch pieces
- pinch dried oregano
- pinch dried thyme
- 1/8 teaspoon tobasco sauce
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- In a large pot on medium heat, add the oil, when hot, saute the onion until translucent then add the garlic and saute for another minute until fragrant. Stir in the parsley and stir for about 2 minutes then add the tomatoes and tomato paste and cook, lower heat and stir often for about 10 minutes.
- Stir in the wine and clam juice then add the fish and mix that in, simmer for about 4 to 5 minutes or until the fish is cooked and easily flakes with a fork. Taste and season to your liking with salt and pepper.
- Ladle the stew into bowls and serve with bread.
Notes
I will use Pangasius fillets when I make this, figure about 100 Baht for 750 grams. For 4 servings, this is about 75 cents per serving.
Variants: 1. Add a pinch of Old Bay Seasoning. 2. Add any or all of the following (you may need to increase the liquid amount as well) clam meat, mussel meat, small oyster meat, shrimp, or scallops. 3. Add diced potatoes. 4. Add mushrooms.
This recipe for Quick Easy Fish Stew is from Simply Recipes.
Rice Cooker Fish
For here in Thailand, think Pangasius, which is already boneless and skinless, or go with Barramundi but you will have to fillet those yourself. This is a quick meal to put together. This uses the common Cook/Warm rice cooker with a steamer basket. If you don't have a steamer basket, just continue reading to see how to do that. This is perfect for a small rice cooker.
Equipment
- Rice Cooker
Ingredients
- 1-2 fish fillets, think Pangasius, see Step 1
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup dry Jasmine rice
- vegetable of choice, broccoli is good, cut into small pieces
- salt and pepper, as desired
Instructions
- For the fish, Pangasius would be perfect but you can use any boneless and skinless fillets you prefer. Cut each fillet in half. For this recipe, 3-4 fillet pieces would fit in an even layer in the steamer basket.
- Rinse and add rice to your rice cooker pot, add water (chicken broth would be ideal here but not required) per your cooker's instructions (normally first knuckle up from your index finger tip). If you wish to steam a vegetable, like broccoli with the rice, add a pinch more liquid. Set the rice cooker to Cook.
- While the rice (and maybe vegetable) is cooking, place a sheet of foil in the steamer basket and push down to form an edge so no oil leaks out. Rub the olive oil on both sides of the fish, season with salt and pepper as desired, place fish on the foil, fold the foil over the steamer basket. IF YOU DO NOT have a steamer basket that came with rice cooker, prepare the foil the same way, making sure there is raised sides all the way around to prevent the oil from going into the rice. At about 15 minutes into cooking the rice, add the steamer basket to the cooker or add the foil pouch directly on top of the rice, and let the cooker switch to Warm setting, a lot of this depends on your rice cooker and how long it takes to cook 1 cup of rice. If the fillets are think, put this in a few minutes earlier.
- When the cooker switches to Warm, remove the fish and check that, it should easily flake with fork indicating it is done.
- Scoop out some rice into a small bowl, place a plate over the bowl, invert the plate while hold the bowl as well, place a fillet on top, place vegetables on the side, serve.
Notes
Low cost.
Simple Salmon
This is your basic stove top recipe, and it could not be any easier. Only 4 ingredients and no quantities needed, figure 1 fillet per serving.
Ingredients
- salmon fillets, or steaks
- salt and pepper, as desired
- extra light olive oil
Instructions
- I used 3 skin on fillets from Tesco, each is 120 grams or about 4¼ oz. Rinse the fillets and check for and remove any stray scales and pin bones.
- Season the flesh side with salt and pepper as desired.
- Heat a tablespoon or two of oil in a non stick pan on medium high heat, when hot, add the salmon skin side down. Cook for about 3-5 minutes, most of the cooking takes place with the skin side down.
- As the color of the flesh on the sides of each fillet changes from the bottom upwards, and the skin is crispy, turn each fillet over and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
- Serve with sides of your choice.
Notes
At 69 Baht for each salmon fillet, this is about $2.15 per serving.
Baked Dorado
For as long as I have been in Thailand, I have never eaten Dorado. Dorado is known as Dolphinfish (it is a fish, not a dolphin), and in the US, particularly Hawaii, known as Mahi Mahi. This is an excellent table fish. I will use the Dorado term here.
Equipment
- Oven
- Baking Pan
Ingredients
- 2 Dorado fillets, about 120 grams / 4¼ oz each
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- ½ cup butter, (1 stick / ½ block)
- 1 clove garlic, smashed and minced
- 1 tablespoon lemon, or lime juice
- 2 drops hot sauce, or to taste
- 1 roma tomato, seeded and chopped
- 1 spring onion, green and white parts, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 230° C (450° F).
- Rub the fish fillets with olive oil and place into a baking dish, bake for about 20 minutes or until the fish easily flakes with a fork.
- While the fish is cooking, in a small saucepan, melt the butter, stir in the lemon juice, garlic, and hot sauce and then add the tomato and spring onion. Cook while stirring until good and hot.
- Remove the fish from the oven and plate, spoon the sauce over the fish and serve. A rice side dish and a vegetable would be great.
Notes
I cannot price this for Dorado, for Pangasius this would be low cost.
Variant: 1. Use any whitefish.
