Salmon Burgers (Patties!)

This month's selection at Cook the Book Fridays where we are currently cooking from Everyday Dorie, is Salmon Burgers. 

Thanks to the feed-back from the lovely ladies at CtBF, that the salmon mixture was very soft, and the burger patty was not holding on to it's shape during frying, I've made some adjustments to the ingredients. The burger mix ingredients are ; chopped salmon fillets, Greek yoghurt, chopped herbs (of which I've used scallions, dill,  and cilantro), Dijon mustard, grainy mustard, capers, lemon zest, salt and pepper.  I've reduced the amount of sour cream (instead of Greek yoghurt as in the recipe), probably using only half the amount, I did not measure. Even then the mixture is still very soft. I added 2 tablespoons of cornflour to bind the mix together. The mix is then refrigerated for at least 2 hours. 

The salmon mix is then formed into burger patties. Even after chilling, it was still on the soft side, I find that it needed more cornflour to firm it up a little. So I've added 2 more tablespoons of cornflour to the mix. I formed them into smaller patties and fry them on both sides until brown. These patties hold their shape and did not fall apart.  I made the onion pickles and cucumber pickles as suggested by Dorie.  But instead of using the patties to make Salmon Burger Buns, we ate the patties as part of our meal with rice. 

This post is linked to :
Cook The Book Fridays (CtBF)
Cookbook Countdown #40

Steamed Garoupa With Ginger And Spring Onion

A typical Chinese style steamed fish dish that is very commonly cooked in a Chinese household. This recipe is from Every Grain Of Rice by Fuchsia Dunlop, a dish that is served in China, though the cooking method is typically Cantonese, as the author mentioned. This is very similar as to how we cooked it over here too. 

To cook this dish, get the ingredients ready, the spring onions and ginger are sliced and cut into thin fine slivers of equal length. Put these aside while you prepare the fish. Make some diagonal cuts on both sides of the fish. Rub the inside and out with some salt and Shaoxing wine. Smack a knob of ginger and some spring onions and put them into the belly cavity of the fish. Leave to marinade for 10-15 minutes, then pour off any liquid, pat the fish dry. Arrange some spring onions on the steaming plate and place the fish on top. Steam over high heat for 15 minutes or until the fish is cooked. 

Meanwhile, dilute about 3 tablespoons of soy sauce with 2 tablespoons hot water and keep aside.

When the fish is ready, carefully remove it to a serving plate, discard the ginger and spring onion from its belly. Arrange the spring onion and ginger slivers on the top. Heat some cooking oil till smoking hot, then carefully drizzle over the ginger and spring onion silvers. There should be a sizzling sound, if not, then the hot is not hot enough. Pour the diluted soy sauce all around the fish and serve immediately while still hot.

This is very much how we cook our steamed fish over here too. Though sometimes I would use shallot oil, with a drizzling of sesame oil at the end. A lovely, delicious and popular steamed fish dish that is served both at home and in Chinese restaurants.

Note : The recipe in the book has used sea bass, but I have used garoupa for this dish, though any other fish that is great for steaming would be good, just make sure that the fish is fresh.

The recipe can be found here
(or get it from Every Grain Of Rice by Fuchsia Dunlop, pg 136)

I'm linking this post with Cookbook Countdown #20 hosted by 

Kitchen Flavours and Emily's Cooking (Makan2) Foray

Sardine Spread

Cook The Book Fridays is cooking through David Lebovitz's cookbook, My Paris Kitchen, and the selection for this week is Sardine Spread. We love sardine as a filling for sandwiches and I was really looking forward to make this. 

I use two cans of sardine packed in extra virgin olive oil.  Drain the sardines and discard the oil.

Remove the bones from each piece of sardine. Mix the cream cheese and butter in a bowl and add the sardine, mashing them to combine. Cream cheese is an interesting ingredient here. Add some chopped scallions, capers, lime juice, salt, black pepper, cayenne powder to taste. Mix everything together. That's it! This has got to be the most simplest recipe from this book, so far! Simple and delicious!

We had the Sardine Spread with my homemade Olive Oil Focaccia, made into a sandwich, with lettuce leaves and slices of cheese, for dinner. The family loved it. 

I have always used canned tuna for making similar sandwich spread like this, but instead of using cream cheese and butter, I have always used mayo. Now, this Sardine Spread, has a place along with my favourite tuna spread. I will definitely be making this again. 

Do stop by CtBF to view everyone's take on this delicious Sardine Spread. If you have the book or thought of getting one, please do, and join us! Full details here.

Fish Steaks in Chraimeh Sauce

It's Potluck Week at I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC). For this week, I've cooked with Yotam Ottolenghi, a fish dish taken from his cookbook "Jerusalem". 

According to Ottolenghi, Chraimeh is the "queen" of all dishes, just as famous as gefilte fish (another fish dish) for Tripolitan (Libyan) Jews. Families pride themselves on their particular chraimeh. This dish certainly looks delicious from the photo in the book. At a glance it looks like fish cooked in sambal sauce, but upon reading the ingredients list, it is entirely different. 

He has advised to use any type of white fish meat, the best would be large sea bass. In the recipe, he has used salmon because they are the most widely available as steaks. I have used snapper steaks. He has suggested to double the sauce since it is so tasty, so that there is more to dip with bread, or serve with couscous or rice. I have made one and a half times more of the sauce.

To prepare the sauce, first dry-toasted some caraways seeds, then ground. Caraway seeds has a lovely minty fragrant, but once they are dry-toasted, they smell incredibly nice. The ground caraway is then mixed in a food processor or blender with the rest of the sauce ingredients ; garlic, sweep paprika, ground cumin, cayenne, ground cinnamon, green chilli and oil, to a thick paste.

The fish steaks are coated with some seasoned flour, heat some oil in a skillet and sear on high heat on both sides until golden, about 2 minutes. Remove and put aside. Heat some oil in the skillet, fry the spice paste for just 30 seconds, then add some water and tomato puree. Bring to a simmer, add some sugar, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Put the fish in the sauce, bring to a gentle simmer, cover the pan and cook until the fish is just done, depending on the size of the fish, about 7-11 minutes. I turned the fish halfway during cooking. Remove from the heat, take the cover off the pan and leave to cool down. Serve just warm or at room temperature, with some chopped coriander and a wedge of lemon.

This is quite delicious! We had it at room temperature and it tastes even better when I tasted it right after cooking. I did not squeeze the lemon juice over because the sauce is good as it is. But be sure to add lots of chopped coriander, it makes the dish taste even better! 

Salmon Steaks In Chraimeh Sauce
(adapted from "Jerusalem", by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi)
110ml sunflower oil
3 tbsp plain flour
4 salmon steaks, on the bone, about 950gm (I use snapper)
6 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
2 tsp sweet paprika
1 tbsp caraway seeds, dry-toasted and freshly ground
1-1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/3 tsp cayenne
1/3 tsp ground cinnamon
1 green chilli, roughly chopped
150ml water
3 tbsp tomato puree
2 tsp caster sugar
1 lemon, cut into four wedges, plus 2 tbsp lemon juice (1 tablespoon lemon juice)
2 tbsp roughly chopped coriander
salt and black pepper

Heat 2 tablespoons of the sunflower oil in a large frying pan for which you have a lid. Place the flour in a shallow bowl, season generously with salt and pepper then toss the fish in it. Shake off the excess flour and sear on a high heat for a minute or two on each side, until golden. Remove the fish and wipe the pan clean.

Place the garlic, spices, chilli and 2 tablespoons of sunflower oil in a food processor and blitz to form a thick paste. You might need to add a little bit more of the oil to bring everything together.

Pour the remaining oil into the fyring pan, heat well and add the spice paste. Stir and fry it for just 30 seconds, so that the spices don't burn. Quickly but carefully (it may spot!), add the water and tomato puree to stop the spices cooking. Bring to a simmer and add the sugar, lemon juice, 3/4 of a teaspoon of salt and some pepper. Taste for seasoning.

Put the fish in the sauce, bring to a gentle simmer, cover the pan and cook for 7-11 minutes, depending on the size of the fish, until it is just done. Remove the pan from the heat, take off the lid and leave to cool down. Serve the fish just warm or at room temperature, garnished with coriander and a wedge of lemon.

I'm linking this post with I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC), theme for this week

IHCC September Potluck!

Green Fish Curry

Cookbook Countdown is a monthly cooking/baking event, which I'm co-hosting with Emily's Cooking (Makan2) Foray.  Everyone is welcome to join us. How does it work? To summarize, you may select a cookbook from your own cookbook collection, to cook or bake from each month. That selected book shall be your cookbook of the month. You may cook any recipes and as many recipes as you want from your selected book of the month. This is a fabulous way of using your cookbooks at least once! For more information on how to join Cookbook Countdown, please click here. 

To link to Cookbook Countdown Specials : BAKE, click here

To link to Cookbook Countdown #9, click here

************************

This month I'm cooking from my selected cookbook for Cookbook Countdown #9, 
500 Curries by Mridula Baljekar

The next recipe I've made is Green Fish Curry, which is really a dish of fried fish, marinated first and coated with spices and green cilantro leaves before frying. It is a dry dish, with no curry gravy at all.

Any fillet of firm white fish can be used. I have used snapper fillet, which is cut to 2 in cubes.

This is the marinating mixture ; shallots, ginger, chillies, coriander, tamarind or lemon juice and salt are processed in a food processor to a paste. This paste is then mixed with the fish pieces and leave to marinate in the fridge, covered for at least 30 minutes. Just before frying gram flour is mixed with a little water and coat the marinated fish evenly. I could not find gram flour and have replaced with a mixture of cornflour and rice flour, equal amount.

Heat up some oil and fry the pieces of fish cubes over medium heat until golden brown on both sides and cooked through. Drain and serve immediately.

This is the Green Fish Curry!

Very nice dish. Aromatic from the fresh coriander leaves. We ate this with plain white rice along with some vegetable curry with gravy. The family likes it.

Green Fish Curry
(adapted from "500 Curries", Mridula Baljekar)
Serves 4
675gm fillet of cod, haddock or other white fish (I use snapper)
2 shallots, roughly chopped
2 tbsp fresh root ginger, roughly chopped
2-4 fresh green chillies, roughly chopped and seeded
1/4 cup coriander leaves and stalks, roughly chopped
1 tsp tamarind mixed with 2 tsp water and strained or 2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp salt, or to taste
2/3 cup gram flour, sifted (I use 1/3 cup cornflour plus 1/3 cup rice flour)
vegetable oil or sunflower oil, for deep-frying
plain boiled rice, to serve

1. Wash the fish gently under running water and pat dry with absorbent kitchen paper. Cut into 2 in pieces. Place the fish pieces in a large mixing bowl.
2. Process the shallots, ginger, chillies, coriander, tamarind or lemon juice and salt in a food processor or blender. Add the blended ingredients to the fish, and using a metal spoon, mix gently, but thoroughly. Set aside for about 30 minutes.
3. Add the sifted gram flour and 2-3 tbsp water ; if necessary, and mix thoroughly until the fish is coated with the paste. You can add a little more water if the paste is not wet enough, to ensure the fish is coated thoroughly.
4. Heat the oil in a wok or other suitable pan for deep-frying over medium to high heat, then fry the fish in batches for about 2-1/2 minutes on each side until it is a golden brown colour, Drain the fried fish on absorbent kitchen paper and serve with any vegetable or lentil dish, accompanied by plain boiled rice.

I'm linking this post with Cookbook Countdown #9 hosted by 

Kitchen Flavours and Emily's Cooking (Makan2) Foray

Oven-Baked Fish with Tomato and Parsley

It's "August Potluck!" at I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC). We are free to select from any of IHCC's past and present featured chefs, and there are 14 chefs to choose from. Going through those chefs' books on my bookshelf, I chose Tessa Kiros's cookbook, Falling Cloudberries, a gorgeous book with many recipes that I want to try!

I've selected an oven-baked fish dish, which is so easy and fuss-free. In the recipe, Tessa uses white fish fillet, cut into 2-1/2 inch pieces. I have however used four slices of snapper, leaving it whole. Place the fish slices in a baking dish in a single layer. The rest of the ingredients ; canned chopped tomatoes, chopped parsley, minced garlic, chopped celery, lemon juice, sugar, olive oil are mixed together and season with salt and pepper. I have used cilantro instead of parlsey and have used much more than the recipe calls for. Pour the mixture over the fish, cover with foil and bake for about 30 minutes. Remove the foil, increase the heat and bake for another 40-50 minutes (I bake for 30 minutes).

The sauce is bubbling in the oven, looks so yummy.

Serve hot. We had it with rice, along with Stir-Fried Sugar Snaps with Garlic for a weeknight dinner. The fish is very soft and the tomato-parsley sauce is very tasty, very nice spoon over rice. As suggested by Tessa, some crusty bread would be lovely to mop up the juices.

Oven-Baked Fish with Tomato and Parsley
(adapted from "Falling Cloudberries", by Tessa Kiros)
1kg (2lb 4oz) firm white fish fillets, cut into 6cm (2-1/2inch) pieces
400gm (14oz) tin tomatoes with juice, chopped (or very ripe tomatoes peeled and chopped)
15gm (1/4 cup) chopped parsley (I've used cilantro)
4 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
juice of 2 lemons (I've used juice of 1 lemon)
2 celery stalks, chopped with some leaves
1 tsp sugar
3 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper
crusty bread, to serve

Preheat the oven to 180C (350F/Gas 4)
Put the fish in an oven dish where they will fit in a single layer. Mix together the tomatoes, parsley, garlic, lemon juice, sugar and olive oil and taste for seasoning. Pour over the fish to cover all the pieces, shaking the dish from side to side. Cover with foil and bake for about 30 minutes.
Remove the aluminium foil, increase the heat to 200C (400f/Gas ) and bake for another 40-50 minutes, or until the liquid has thickened and the top of the fish is golden in a couple of places.
Serve with crusty bread to mop up the juices.

I'm linking this post with I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC), theme for this week,

"August Potluck"!

Pan-Fried Fish With Vinegar

Over at I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC), this week's theme is "February Featured Chef : Tessa Kiros". I've made one of Tessa's fish recipe which I have been wanting to try for ages. 

Tessa's Pan-Fried Fish With Vinegar is a delicious dish. I've used golden pomfret, one of our favourite fish, good either steamed or fried. For this dish, the fish is rubbed with some salt and a little flour on both sides, pan-fry in olive oil on both sides till golden, adding the garlic, bay leave and half the chopped rosemary about halfway through. White wine vinegar is added the pan, it will sizzle, letting it boil for a few minutes, spooning some of the sauce over the fish a few times, until the sauce has reduced a little. Add the rest of the rosemary and some black pepper. Serve immediately.

Tessa says to serve the rosemary-garlic oil with bread. But we had it with rice. It was delicious.


Pan-Fried Fish With Vinegar
(adapted from "Piri piri Starfish", Tessa Kiros)
2 baby fish (each about 300gm/10oz), cleaned, gutted and scaled
a little flour
125ml (1/2 cup) olive oil
coarse salt
2 garlic cloves, peeled and squashed a bit
2 bay leaves
2-1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary leaves
125ml (1/2 cup) white wine vinegar

Pat the fish dry, salt well, then pat in flour on both sides. Heat the oil in a frying pan large enough to hold both fish. When hot, add the fish and cook for a few minutes over high heat until golden underneath. Turn over and salt.

Add the garlic and bay and throw in almost half the rosemary. Cook again until the fish is golden underneath. Turn over carefully, taking care not to break the fish, and salt the new topside. The heat should still be high, so sit the garlic and bay on top of the fish if necessary. Add the vinegar and let it bubble for 5 minutes or so until thickened a little. Add the rest of the rosemary and some black pepper and spoon the liquid over the fish a few times. There should be lots of sauce for serving and the fish will be cooked through.

Take the whole pan to the table (with a plate for the bones). The rosemary garlic oil is delicious scraped from the bottom of the pan with chips or bread.

I'm linking this post with IHCC, theme for this week, "February Featured Chef : Tessa Kiros"

Salmon with Sweet and Spicy Rub

"Think Orange", the theme for this week at I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC). We are celebrating the colour orange, and we can make any recipe with any orange-hued ingredients using any of Ellie Krieger's recipes. I've chosen to cook salmon.

Simple, easy and quick! Recipe calls for the salmon skin to be removed, but I did not do that. We like eating the fish with skin.The salmon fillets are brushed with some oil, then rubbed with the spice mix ; light brown sugar, chilli powder, cumin powder, ground black pepper, and salt. They are then grilled over medium heat until charred and cooked to your liking. We like ours well-done.

Served the salmon fillets with some steamed Asia greens. I did not have any lemons but have lots of calamansi lime. Squeeze half a calamansi lime over the salmon fillet just before serving, yummy!

Salmon with Sweet and Spicy Rub
(adapted from "The Food You Crave", Ellie Krieger)
Serves 6
Cooking spray
2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
1 tablespoon chilli powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
six 5-ounce salmon fillets, skin and any pin bones removed
1 tablespoon olive oil

Coat your grill or a grill pan with cooking spray and preheat over medium heat. While the grill is heating, combine the brown sugar, chilli powder, cumin, salt, and pepper. Brush each salmon fillet with 1/2 teaspoon of the spice mixture.

Grill the salmon, flesh side down, until charred, 4 to 5 minutes. Flip the salmon and cook for another 5 to 6 minutes for medium doneness. For well-done fish, cook an additional 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a platter and serve immediately.

I'm linking this post with I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC), theme for this week,

"Think Orange"

and 

Cook-Your-Books #27 @ kitchen flavours

Full-of-Herbs Fish Cakes

"June Mystery Box Madness Challenge", the theme for this week at I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC). Each month, we were given a list of ten ingredients and must select at least three out of the ten ingredients to make a dish from any of IHCC's past or present featured chefs' recipes. 

The ten ingredients for this month are ; Any White-Fleshed Fish, Green Leaf Lettuce, Pine Nuts, Dill, Cheddar Cheese, Almond Extract or Liqueur, Blueberries, Cornstarch, Bell Pepper and Black Beans.

My selected MBM ingredients ; White-fleshed Fish (I used sole), Cornflour and Dill, to make Yotam Ottolenghi's, "Full-of-Herbs Fish Cakes. And I've served the fish cakes with the fourth MBM ingredient, Green Leaf Lettuce.

This is a full-of herbs fish cakes indeed! The herbs ; dill, coriander, basil, lime leaves, lemongrass and ginger. Chopped shallots and chopped garlic are first sauteed over a medium-low heat about 5 minutes, then all the chopped herbs are added in (minus the ginger), stir for about 2 minutes until aromatic. Remove and allow to cool. The herb mixture is so fragrant, the lime leaves gave a wonderful aroma that no other herbs can give, do not leave it out. Though it is not stated in the recipe which type of lime leaves that he uses, I have always used kaffir lime leaves for my cooking, a common ingredient over here in Malaysia. Kaffir lime leaves are so fragrant. And I do have two pots of kaffir lime plants in my potted garden. 

White-fleshed fish meat (boneless and skinless, I've used sole) are cut to chunks and process briefly in the food processor just so they are broken into small pieces. They are then added to the herb mixture, along with chopped ginger, half an egg, cornflour, ground coriander, fish sauce, lime zest, and salt. Shape into long portions, flatten a little, and fry in hot oil on both sides until cooked through. Recipe states to fry both sides for about 90 seconds, and place them on a baking tray, and finish off the cooking in the oven for a few minutes. I have omitted this step. Fish meat cooked pretty quickly, and lazy me do not want to wash an extra tray! So I have cooked the fish cakes on the stove over medium-low heat on both sides, turning them over a couple of times until they are cooked through. 

Serve them hot with a squeeze of lemon, and some green lettuce.

These were delicious. Very tasty and really fragrant from the kaffir lime leaves. These fish cakes taste the best when hot (as recommended in the recipe), as when they cool down to room temperature, they do get a little fishy! We ate these with rice as part of our dinner dish.

Full-of-Herbs Fish Cakes
(source from guardian.com, recipe by Yotam Ottolenghi)
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 shallots, peeled and finely diced
3 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
30gm fresh coriander leaves, chopped
25gm, fresh dill, chopped
20gm fresh basil leaves, finely shredded (I've used Thai basil)
6 lime leaves, finely chopped
1 lemongrass stalk, bruised and finely chopped
1/2 tsp ground coriander
400gm haddock fillets (or other firm, white fish), skinless and boneless
10gm fresh ginger, peeled and finely ground
1-1/2 tsp fish sauce
1/2 tsp lime zest
1/2 egg, lightly beaten (use the other half for something else)
1 tbsp corn flour
salt
50ml sunflower oil
1 lemon, cut into wedges

Heat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Heat the olive oil in a medium frying pan, add the shallots and garlic, and saute on a medium heat for 5 minutes. Turn the heat up to high, add the herbs, lime leaves, lemongrass and ground coriander, and cook for two minutes. Remove and allow to cool.

Cut the fish into rough chunks and place in a food processor. Blitz in a few pulses, just until it's broken down into approximately 0.5-1cm pieces - take care not to over-process.

In a large bowl, mix together the oniony, herby mass from the pan, the fish, ginger, fish sauce, lime zest, egg and corn flour and add a quarter-teaspoon of salt. Split the mix into 40gm portions, form each into a long 8cmx4cm kebab, and gently flatten a little.

Heat the sunflower oil in a large frying pan on medium heat. Fry the fish cakes in batches for about 90 seconds on each side, until lightly golden. Transfer to a baking tray and place in the oven for about two minutes to cook through. Serve hot with a wedge of lemon.

I'm linking this post to I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC), theme for this week, 

"June Mystery Box Madness Challenge"

Sea Bass with Lebanese Herb Sauce

"March  Potluck", the theme for this week at I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC). For our Potluck week, we are free to cook with any of our featured chefs at IHCC. And I've chosen to cook with Diana Henry, the current featured chef. We only have one more week to go, before we start with the next selected chef, Jacques Pepin, on April 6th.

Back in November, I have made one of Diana Henry's fish recipe, Spanish Baked Fish, and it was so good that I've made it one more time after that. Even now, I have a large piece of sea bass in my freezer, as I'm planning to make it again sometime this week. Yes, we love this dish a lot!

Diana Henry has quite a collection of interesting fish recipes. And this Sea Bass with Lebanese Herb Sauce is one of them. Seeing how much my family love her Spanish Baked Fish, I decided to try this recipe for dinner. Well, just as I've expected, this is a delicious dish.

Another quick and easy dish to cook. The sea bass is cleaned, gutted, scaled and make three slashes on each side of the fish. Brush the inside and out with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Put in a roasting pan and bake 8 minutes, for a small fish. The sea bass I used is quite large, so I baked it for about 25 minutes. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and cilantro and bake for a further 5 minutes or until the fish is fully cooked. Serve it immediately with the herb sauce.

For the herb sauce, I made some adjustments to the quantity of the herbs. Diana Henry has used a tablespoon each of chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped fresh mint leaves, and 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh cilantro. I know that my family loves more sauces in just about anything! So I have used more than the recipe calls for, about half a cup of flat-leaf parsley, a quarter cup of mint leaves and a whole cup of chopped fresh cilantro. Everything goes into the blender with the rest of the sauce ingredients, except the chopped fresh chilli which is to be added just before serving. Another adjustment I made was, to reduce the amount of olive oil from 1 cup to 1/3 cup and I feel that it was enough. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper, as needed. Pour into a bowl, add in the chopped fresh chilli and serve immediately with the baked fish.

A very tasty dish. I'm so glad I've made more sauce! Very good eaten with the tender and flaky fish! I asked my family which fish dish they prefer, the Spanish Baked Fish or this? According to them both are delicious, but they would not mind having the Spanish Baked Fish again. Obviously they have a favourite! :)

My daughter seems to love this herby sauce. She says it is really delicious eaten with white rice, and she is right!

Sea Bass with Lebanese Herb Sauce
(adapted from "Pure Simple Cooking", Diana Henry)
Serves 4
4 (10-oz) whole sea bass or porgy, gutted, trimmed and scaled
olive oil
salt and pepper
1-1/2 tsp each of finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley and cilantro (I've used more!)

Sauce :
1 cup extra-virgin oil (I use about 1/3 cup)
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 tsp superfine sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tbsp coarsely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley  (about 1/2 cup)
1 tbsp coarsely chopped fresh mint leaves (about 1/4 cup)
2 tbsp coarsely chopped fresh cilantro (about 1 cup)
1 medium fresh red chile, halved, seeded, and chopped

1. Preheat the oven to 400F. Make three slashes on each side of each fish. Brush the fish inside and out with olive oil and season with salt and pepper all over. Put into an ovenproof dish or roasting pan and bake for 8 minutes. Sprinkle with the chopped parsley and cilantro. Bake for 5 minutes. The fish is cooked when the flesh near the bone is white and opaque.
2. Put all the ingredients for the sauce, except the chile, into a blender and puree. Taste for seasoning, then add the chopped chile. Serve the fish immediately with the sauce.

I'm linking this post with I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC), theme for this week "March Potluck"




and

Cook-Your-Books #21 @ Kitchen Flavours

Spanish Baked Fish

"November Potluck", the theme for this week at I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC). I've decided to make one of Diana Henry's fish recipes, and she has quite a number of fish recipes. 

Ever since I saw the photo of this dish, "Spanish Baked Bream" in the Diana Henry's cookbook, "Food From Plenty", I knew that I will be making it sooner or later. This dish has really simple ingredients and yet it looks so delicious. And it is delicious!

The ingredients needed are fish, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper, smoked paprika, white breadcrumbs, garlic and finely chopped parsley. Firstly brush the fish inside and out with olive oil, squeeze on some lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. Lay the fish in a baking dish. Mix the breadcrumbs, smoked paprika, crushed garlic, and salt to taste in a small bowl. Scatter this mixture over the fish, drizzle with olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice. Bake in a preheated oven at 190C until fish is cooked through, about 20-30 minutes.

I've used 1 large sea bass, about 600gm, and it takes about 35 minutes to be fully cooked. After about 20 minutes in the oven, the breadcrumbs mixture are beginning to brown, and the fish is still not fully cooked yet, so I have tent the top with foil, and continue to bake until the fish is cooked through. I then sprinkled the finely chopped parsley over the top, and continue to bake for another 3 minutes. Serve hot. Take note of the cooking times, depending on the size of the fish. To know whether the fish is done, I use a fork to poke thru the thickest part of the fish flesh (along the back), if the fork goes thru without any resistance, then the fish is cooked. If the fork can't get thru the meat, then it needs a few minutes more of baking time.

If the fish is large, you might want to bake the fish for 10 or 15 minutes first, before scattering the breadcrumbs mixture over the top and continue on baking until the fish is done.

This is one delicious dish!  Since I've used only one fish, I have used half the ingredients and the next time I would certainly double the ingredients. We had this for dinner with rice and other dishes, and everyone was spooning for the breadcrumbs-paprika mixture. This is one dish that you got to be a little generous with the olive oil and lemon juice. Simple, so easy to cook,  yet so good! I would definitely make this again.

Spanish Baked Bream

(adapted from "Food From Plenty", Diana Henry)

serves 4

for the bream :

4 x 300gm (10-1/2oz) bream, gutted, trimmed and scaled

7 tbsp olive oil

juice of 1 lemon

salt and pepper

5 tsp smoked paprika

4 garlic cloves, crushed

35gm (1-1/4 oz) white breadcrumbs

small handful of flat leat parsley, finely chopped

To serve :

extra virgin olive oil

wedges of lemon

1. Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/gas mark 5. Brush the fish inside and out with olive oil, squeeze on some lemon juice and season well. Lay the fish - in a single layer but close together - in an overproof dish. Mix the smoked paprika, garlic and breadcrumbs together and season. Sprinkle this all over the fish, then drizzle on the remaining oil and lemon juice.
2. Bake for 20 minutes. Throw on the parsley when the fish has cooked for 15 minutes. The bream is cooked when the flesh near the bone is white and opaque. Drizzle with extra virgin oil and serve with lemon wedges.

I'm linking this post to I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC), theme for this week, "November Potluck"

and :

Cook-Your-Books #18 @ kitchen flavours

Fish In A Green Sauce & Tomato and Onion Relish

I'm sharing today, Madhur Jaffrey's Fish In A Green Sauce and Tomato and Onion Relish which I served with Lemon Rice, from my previous post.

For the fish dish, according to the MJ, firm-fleshed fish like king fish or salmon are ideal. I have however used stingray instead, since I have some pieces in my freezer which I bought just a couple of days earlier. Stingray is pretty common over here in Malaysia, the most popular method of cooking it, is to marinate it with spices and grill it over a hot fire, and enjoy it with a delicious chilli and lime condiment. We love eating stingray, which I often use for a Nyonya dish. The flesh is firm enough and yet tender and extremely tasty, so I thought I used it for this dish.

The fish is marinated with some spices and then fry on both sides. Remove and keep aside. The sauce is made up of chopped tomatoes, chopped fresh coriander, onion, green chillies, ginger, chilli powder and garam masala, and is seasoned with lemon juice, salt and pepper. For the spices, I have used slightly more than the amount mentioned in the recipe. Madhur Jaffrey has an interesting measurement for the chopped fresh coriander, amount is 1 teacup! I've used a full measurement cup, perhaps a little bit more, as I love fresh coriander. When the sauce is halfway thru cooking, the fish pieces is placed in the sauce, with the sauce spooned over,  cover, and simmer for a few minutes. This is a fairly dry dish, as there is not a drop of water being used. The chopped tomatoes would release its juices and by the time the dish is done, it will be almost dry. A very tasty dish, and an interesting way to cook stingray. There were a few pieces leftover and the next day, instead of reheating it over the stove, since it is already quite dry, I heated it by steaming for a few minutes. The flavours actually improve overnight.

This Tomato and Onion Relish is just so easy, it was done in minutes. A wonderful relish that is just great with any Indian curries.

My weeknight dinner, Lemon Rice, Fish In A Green Sauce, Tomato and Onion Relish.

Fish In A Green Sauce
(adapted from "100 Essential Curries", Madhur Jaffrey)
Serves 2
for the fish
2 good-sized salmon or king fish steaks (about 675gm/1-1/2lb)
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/8 tsp ground turmeric
1/8 tsp chilli powder (1/4 tsp)

for the green sauce
vegetable oil
85gm (3oz) onions, peeled and finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
1 teacup finely chopped coriander
1 medium tomato, finely chopped
2-3 fresh hot green chillies
1 tsp peeled, finely grated fresh ginger
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp chilli powder (1/2 tsp)
1/2 tsp garam masala (1 tsp)

Step One

Rub the fish on both sides with a generous sprinkling of salt, lots of freshly ground pepper and the turmeric and chilli powder. Rub well and set aside.

Step Two

Put 3 tablespoons oil in a non-stick frying pan and set over high heat. When hot, put in the fish and brown quickly on both sides without letting it cook through. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. Add the onion and garlic to the pan. Stir and fry until the onion browns a bit. Add the green coriander, tomato, green chillies, ginger, lemon juice and salt. Stir and cook over medium-high heat until the coriander and tomato have completely wilted. Spread the green sauce around in the frying pan and check the salt.

Step Three

Lay the fish over the top. Now spoon some green sauce over the fish. Sprinkle the chilli powder and garam masala over the top. Biring to a simmer. Cover, lower the heat and simmer gently for about 10 minutes.

Tomato and Onion Relish
(Timatar Aur Pyaz Ka Cachumbar India)
(adapted from "100 Essential Curries", Madhur Jaffrey)
Serves 4
2-3 medium tomatoes
1 medium onion
1 teaspoon roasted, ground cumin seeds
1 tablespoon lemon juice
salt
freshly ground black pepper
1/8-1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Step One
Cut the tomatoes into 5mm (1/4in) cubes. Peel and finely chop the onion. Combine the tomato and onion in a serving bowl.

Step Two
Add the roasted cumin, lemon juice and salt, pepper and cayenne to taste. Toss to mix. Cover with cling film and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

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I am linking this post to  :

I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC),  for February Potluck

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Little Thumbs Up, ingredient for this month is Lemons, an event organized by Zoe of Bake For Happy Kids and Doreen of My Little Favourite D.I.Y. and hosted by Grace of Life Can Be Simple.

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Cook-Your-Books #9 hosted by Kitchen Flavours

Baked Fish Fillet with Tomatoes & Herbed Couscous

"December Potluck" is this week's theme at I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC), where we are currently cooking from Donna Hay's recipes. For our Potluck week, we are however, free to select any recipes from our previous featured chefs, and for this week, I'm cooking with our current featured chef, Donna Hay.

During one of the weeknight dinner, when it was just the kids and myself, having dinner at home, when hubby was out of town, I  made this Baked Fish Fillet with Tomatoes and paired it with Herbed Couscous.

According to the recipe, any white fish fillet would do, and I have used tilapia fillet. Cherry tomatoes, lemon zest, capers and garlic are first roasted, drizzled with a little olive oil for about 20 minutes. The fish fillets are then added in, sprinkled with salt and black pepper, and baked for another 20 minutes until fish is cooked through. Drizzle with lemon juice and serve immediately. I have served this with Donna Hay's, Herbed Couscous.

The couscous recipe was taken from here, where it was originally served with harissa pork. The herbs used for this couscous are mint leaves and chives, both of which I have in my small herb garden. As usual, couscous are fairly easy to cook. I've added some salt and a squeeze of  lemon juice to taste. 

A simple, quick and delicious meal that we really enjoyed. 

Baked Fish Fillets with Tomatoes

(source from : donnahay.com)
350gm cherry tomatoes
1 tablespoon shredded lemon zest
8 cloves garlic, bruised
1-1/2 tablespoons salted capers, rinsed
1/3 cup (80ml) olive oil
4x120gm firm white fish fillets, such as snapper
lemon juice
sea salt and cracked black pepper

Preheat the oven to 180C (350F). Place the tomatoes, lemon zest, garlic and capers in a baking dish. Drizzle with half of the oil and bake for 20 minutes. Add the fish fillets to the baking tray, drizzle with the remaining oil and cook for a further 15-20 minutes or until golden and cooked through. Drizzle with lemon juice and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Serve with the tomatoes and a green salad. Serves 4.


Herbed Couscous
(source from : donnahay.com)
1 cup cooked couscous
1 small red onion
1/4 cup mint leaves
1/4 cup chopped chives

Place the couscous, onion, mint and chives in a bowl and toss to combine.
(I've added some salt and lemon juice to taste).

This post is linked to I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC). Do drop by IHCC to see what my friends are cooking for this week's Potluck Theme.

And I'm sharing this with :

See Ya In The Gumbo @ Ms. enPlace

Stuffed Beancurd Puffs in Hakka Style

On days when the mind just "freezes" over what to prepare for dinner, cookbooks certainly comes in handy. I love eating Hakka cuisines and especially love the meat stuffing used in Yong Tau Fu. I made this delicious Stuffed Beancurd Puffs for dinner last week, recipe taken from a local cookbook on Hakka cuisine.

I love eating beancurd puffs, especially when stuffed with filling such as this. This filling is made by mixing minced pork meat, fish paste, dried squids, chopped garlic, chopped spring onions, tapioca flour, salt, pepper and a pinch of sugar to taste. These ingredients are mixed in a bowl, using a one-direction stirring, until it became a sticky paste. 

(Tip : to ensure that the filling is well seasoned, cook a teaspoon of filling in a small saucepan with a few drops of oil, taste and adjust seasoning to the filling mixture if necessary. )

Make a slit in the centre of each beancurd puffs to form a pocket and fill it with the filling. Prepare the stock by boiling some chicken stock, add in the stuffed beancurd puffs, add salt, pepper to taste. Let mixture comes to a boil and simmer for about 10-15 minutes until beancurd puffs have soften and the filling is cooked. Add in Chinese long cabbages and let it boil for about 5 minutes. Serve hot.

Very delicious! I served this stuffed beancurd soup with some Hakka Noodles. The meat filling is so springy, chewy and so tasty. I will definitely make this again.

Stuffed Beancurd Puffs In Hakka Style
(adapted from : "Hakka : An Inspiring Collection of Hakka Food)
10 beancurd puffs
200gm Chinese long cabbage (sliced)
500ml chicken broth

For the filling :
200gm minced pork (with fats)
150gm fish paste
20gm dried squids (soak in water until soften, chopped)
1 tbsp chopped garlic
2 tbsp chopped spring onions
1 tbsp tapioca flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp pepper

Seasoning :
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp chicken stock powder

1. To make filling, combine all filling ingredients, mix until sticky, keep aside. (stir in one direction until thick and sticky)
2. Make a slit in each of the beancurd puffs, and stuff in the filling mixture until full.
3. Boil chicken broth in a pot. Once it comes to a boil, add in the stuffed beancurd puffs, simmer for 10-15 minutes until filling is cooked through.
4. Add in long cabbages and seasoning, to taste, cook for a further 5 minutes. Serve hot.

I'm sharing this post with :

Cook-Your-Books #7 hosted by Kitchen Flavours

and
Souper Sundays @ Kahakai Kitchen
See Ya In The Gumbo @ Ms. enPlace