Steamed fish with black bean sauce and tomato

13:59

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Seafood

Chinese New Year is just a week away. In Chinese tradition, fish is always a must have for the festive meal. Fish is auspicious to symbolise there will always be plenty year after year. In Chinese phrase it is called 'nian nian you yu' 年年有餘 or 年年有魚. Here the word fish 魚 sounds the same as 餘 which means plenty left.

Steamed fish is very popular for any Chinese festive meals. Fish for steaming should always be fresh not frozen because frozen fish tends to be tougher, less juicy and can smell quite fishy.

Steamed fish with black beans is a common Chinese recipe. I have modified this to suit my taste. This is probably one the most repeated recipes I have done. It's quick, easy and irresistibly scrummy.

The recipe is steamed fish with a black bean sauce topped with tomato slices. The final touch or step of this recipe I find very important is to pour sizzling hot oil over the spring onion and sauce which really brings out the flavour. Adding tomato is something I learnt from mum which adds a sweet and sour taste and mellow down the strong flavour of black beans.

For the fish any fresh juicy fish is fine with or without bones/skin. I have done the same recipe with salmon, trout, whole lemonsole, skate wings and super fresh cod. If you want to do this for special occasion you can use monk fish or turbot. Mackerel is too fishy smelling for this recipe unless is it super fresh straight from the sea. If you use fresh tuna cooked it medium rare or it will be too tough cooked through. Sword fish or similar large fish is far too meaty and tough for steaming. If you are outside UK, you can use any other fresh local fish. Fish fillet, fish steak with bone or whole fish are all suitable. Fish with skin make sure you remove the scales.

Here is the recipe,

Ingredients:

300 - 400g whole fish or thick chunky fish fillet or steak, for this time I used salmon fillet
1 large tomato
some finely shredded ginger
some finely shredded spring onion

For the sauce:
2 tbsp fermented black beans or dousi (whole beans not sauce in a jar)
2 - 3 tsp light soy sauce
1 clove garlic, chopped
some red chilli, chopped
1 tbsp oyster sauce
pinch of sugar
1 tsp cornflour mix with 1 tbsp water
few drops of sesame oil

Sizzling oil:
2 tbsp of cooking oil
1 slice of ginger
few sichuan peppercorns


Method:

Before steaming

1. Clean and put the fish onto a deep dish. 
2. Make the sauce. Rinse the beans then mashed it with a fork. Add in the rest of the ingredients. Microwave for 15 - 20 seconds till sauce is thickened. Stir and spread this sauce on the fish. (precooking the sauce thickens it so it will coat the fish then slip down onto the bottom of the dish.)
3. Cut the tomato into thick slices. Spread them on the sauce. 
4. Spread the shredded ginger on top.
5. Get the steamer ready. When water is boiling heat high and steam for 8 - 10 minutes. To check if the fish is cooked pierce the thickest part with one chopstick if goes in easily it's cooked through. If you use a electric steamer this may take a bit longer to cook. If you don't have a steamer, you can cook this in the oven. To cook in oven make a few adjustments; i.e. add 2 - 3 tbsp of boiling water onto the bottom of the dish to create steam and keep the fish moist, cover the dish with foil and cook/roast at 200 deg for about 20 - 30 minutes. Or alternately, this can also be cooked in the microwave. You will need some extra water like oven method, cover the dish with a lid or cling (piece with a hole or two) then microwave at medium high heat for about 6 - 8  minutes.   
6. When the fish is cooked. Turn the heat off. Heat couple of tbsp of cooking oil in a small pan, add ginger slice and sichuan peppercorns heat till the oil is fragrant. Remove ginger and Sichuan peppercorns with a slotted spoon. Quickly spread the spring onion onto the fish, do not cover with lid. While you spread the spring onion, continue heating the oil at medium low heat till slightly smoky. Stand back and pour the hot oil over the spring onion and sauce. This will sizzle rapidly and wilted the spring onion. 
7. Ready to serve straight away. 

Pour the hot oil onto the dish. Sorry for a very fussy picture I was too busy pouring the oil than focusing the camera. No second chance!

This recipe is enough for up to 2 persons. If you cook for more people increase the quantity and cooking time. Steaming time for double the quantity will probably take another 3 - 5 minutes more.

Happy Wabbit Year

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Singapore Chili Crabs – King of the Crab Recipes?

17:14

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Spicy

Living in San Francisco, I’ve had more than my fair share of crab; prepared in more ways than I can remember, but I’ve never enjoyed it more than in this Singapore-style chili crabs recipe. Just be sure to have lots of napkins around. Lots of napkins.

Apparently, this is the national dish of Singapore, and you can’t throw a rock without hitting someone eating a plate of it. By the way, that’s not something you’d want to try. Just ask Michael P. Fay.

As far as I can tell, there’s no one standard way to make this. Besides the crab, and some kind of tomato product, I couldn’t find two recipes alike. What you see here is my take on this, but it does contain many of the most typical ingredients.

Most are easy to find, except maybe the tamarind paste, although any high-end grocery chain should stock some in their international foods section. If you can’t find it, maybe add a little extra pinch of sugar, plus the juice and zest of one lemon.

Obviously the most important ingredient is the crab, so find something really nice. The store up the street had a special on freshly steamed, Dungeness crab, so that’s what I used here, but any similar variety will work. 

If you can somehow get live crabs, that’s the ultimate choice, but I know that’s not realistic for most of you. The good news is, this is incredibly delicious either way. I really hope you give this Singapore-style chili crabs recipe a try soon. Enjoy!

Please Note: My friends in Singapore tell me they serve this with at least twice the amount of sauce, and a type of fried roll to soak up the goodness with. So, if you want to rock the chili crab like a Singaporean, then you should probably double the sauce ingredients!

Ingredients for four appetizer size portions:

2 whole cooked Dungeness crabs (about 2-3 lbs. each), cleaned and cracked

2-3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1/4 cup minced shallots, or other onion

6 cloves garlic, minced

2 tbsp minced fresh ginger root

1 tbsp minced serrano pepper

For the sauce:

1/2 cup tomato ketchup

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon oyster sauce

1 tablespoon tamarind paste

2 tablespoon sambal (or any spicy ground chili sauce)

2 tsp fish sauce

2 tsp palm sugar

1 large egg

1/2 cup chicken broth or water

Finish with:

2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro

2 tbsp sliced green onions (the green parts) or 1 tbsp sliced chives

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Lobster Newberg… I Mean, Wenberg

19:43

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Seafood

How Lobster Newberg got its name is one of my all-time favorite food stories. It’s also a fascinating glimpse into the twisted mind of someone crazy enough to own/run a restaurant. 

As the story goes, this dish was invented by a Mr. Ben Wenberg, who showed it to his buddy, Charles Delmonico, at the famous Delmonico’s Restaurant, in New York City. Chuck puts it on the menu, calls it “Lobster Wenberg,” and everyone loves it.

Sometime thereafter, the two men get into a horrible argument, and Delmonico takes it off the menu. Of course, the patrons are like, “You said what? He said what? Whatever, just put it back on the menu.” Which he did, but not before changing the name to the anagram, “Newberg,” purely out of spite. Hey, he could have gone with Lobster “Bengrew.”

Strange but true naming stories aside, this really is a great, and simple recipe. As long as you’re not filming it, that is. Once you start with the sauce, you really can’t stop until you’re spooning it into the pastry, so this presented a little challenge in trying to get all the shots.

The sauce is pretty rich, so you want something just thick enough to coat the meat, but not so thick that it covers it up. Having said that, if you cook it a little further, until it almost starts to simmer, it will get a bit thicker, if that’s your preference. Just don’t go too far, or the yolks may start to form curds, and you’ll lose the silkiness.

What you want to avoid is that pudding-like consistency you see on the bad hotel buffets. Besides paying attention to the few minutes of stirring, not much can go wrong. I really hope you give the recipe formerly known as, “Lobster Wenberg,” a try soon. Enjoy!

                        

Ingredients for 4 appetizer sized portions:

4 (4-oz) lobster tails

2 tbsp clarified butter (melted butter with the milky foam removed)

2 or 3 tbsp sherry or brandy

salt to taste

1/2 cup heavy cream

2 large egg yolks

cayenne pepper to taste

pinch of fresh grated nutmeg

Serve over buttered toast or in freshly baked puff pastry shells (video to follow)

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Bay Scallop Chowder – Looks Good?

20:10

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Stews

Every once in a while I make a dish that no matter how great it tastes, I just can’t get past how it looks, and that was the case with this very easy, incredibly delicious scallop chowder. 

The main culprit was the caramelization from the bacon and onions, which provided great flavor, but the hue they imparted, along with the pale green celery, and yellow potatoes, made things kind of dingy.

I could have browned the scallops first, and gone even further to the dark side, but scallops this small and sweet need to be eaten as soon as they’re cooked, and by the time we reheated them in the soup, they’d be hard, dry, and disappointing.

Maybe it’s just me. I hope that’s the case here, otherwise we’re going to need to brainstorm some kind of make-over, because this bowl of chowder is too good not to make. If you do make it, and want a thicker, more traditional chowder base, simply mash some of your potatoes into the mixture.

A roux can also be used to tighten things up, but since scallops are so rich, I prefer the lighter texture seen herein. So whether you figure out a way to pretty this up or not, I hope you give it a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 4 portions of Bay Scallop Chowder:

2 tsp olive oil

2 slices bacon

1/2 yellow onion, diced

1 rib celery, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 (8-oz) bottle clam juice

1 cup low sodium chicken broth

1 red Frenso chili, fine dice

1/2 cup cream

1 cup cubed Yukon gold potatoes

freshly ground black pepper

pinch of cayenne

salt to taste

1 tsp fresh lemon zest

1 pound bay scallops

1 tbsp fresh tarragon

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Fresh Salmon Cakes – Uncanny

17:57

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Seafood

Salmon cakes are one of my go-to, emergency meals. We keep a few cans of salmon in the pantry, and when faced with that dreaded “there’s nothing in the house to eat” situation, we pop one open, and are soon enjoying a batch of these easy, affordable, and pretty delicious patties.

That’s the typical scenario, but every once in a while I like to use fresh salmon. Salmon is one of those products, like chicken, that’s very easy to get into a rut with. People generally find a few recipes that work for them, and just stay with those, but this fairly simple preparation should be easy to add to anyone's rotation.

Like other seafood “cakes,” we want to use the minimum amount of filler. Just a touch of breadcrumb is all you need here, as the raw salmon is the real binder. That’s one of the big advantages over canned salmon cakes, where we’re cooking something that’s already cooked. The result is something much moister, and more tender.

As far as flavorings go, you’re faced with an infinite number of possibilities. Using this basic method, you can go hog-wild with variations, including, but not limited to, actual hog parts. These are also perfect for a burger bun, as well as a base for poached eggs. That may be my favorite use. I hope you give these fresh salmon cakes a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 4 salmon cakes:

1 tbsp extra olive oil

1/4 finely minced onion

2 tbsp finely minced red pepper

2 tbsp minced celery

salt and pepper to taste

1 tbsp capers

1 1/4 pounds fresh wild salmon, trimmed, coarsely chopped

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs (any will work)

2 clove finely minced garlic

pinch cayenne

pinch Old Bay

1 tsp Dijon mustard

additional olive oil for frying

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Seared Scallops on Corn "Cream" – Not to Sound Corny, But This is Summer in a Bowl

22:22

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Seafood

This seared scallops on fresh corn “cream, ” shows that you can take a few seasonal ingredients, put them together simply and quickly, and with a little luck, and a very hot pan, produce something pretty special.  

There are three keys to producing sufficiently seared scallops. First, they must be perfectly dry. Second, the oil goes on the cold scallops, not in the hot pan. Third, your pan must be extremely hot, which means you have to use a very heavy, cast iron or stainless steel pan.

That bit of brown caramelization on the edges of the scallops might not look like a big deal, but it is. It’s a huge deal, and makes a tremendous difference in the final flavor. So, if you have the ways and means, I highly recommend you follow the procedure as shown.

As you’ll see, I used fresh white corn, but frozen will work in a pinch, although using that in August is almost a crime against nature, but let your conscience be your guide. Also, frozen corn is almost always yellow, and I really prefer the color of the white corn here. In any case, I hope you give this delicious, and very summery scallop dish a try soon. Enjoy!  

For 4 first-course sized portions:

For the corn “cream":
2 ears white corn

2 tbsp butter

salt to taste

1 cup chicken broth or water

pinch of cayenne

For the scallops:

12 large scallops

2 tsp high-heat vegetable oil (like canola or grape seed oil)

1/2 tsp smoked paprika, or to taste

1 tsp kosher salt

1 red fresno chili, sliced thin (I glazed my pepper rings in the hot pan with a slash of water, a small chunk of butter, and juice of 1/2 lemon)
radish sprouts to garnish

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Shrimp Fra Diavolo – The Brother Devil Made Me Do It

15:46

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Spicy

This latest test of still how little I know about editing in Adobe Premier, features a devilishly delicious shrimp fra diavolo, or “shrimp brother devil,” if we’re being literal for comic effect.

I think this came out looking pretty good, although it took me so much longer to edit, since I’m still barely at novice level using the new software. So, with it being Friday afternoon and all, I’m gong to keep this short and sweet, and simply suggest you do two things.

First of all, if you know any great Premier tips, tricks or resources, send them my way! You’ll notice I don’t have consistent transitions, or captions for the times and temperatures; but I’m sure I’ll have that figured out soon enough. Secondly, make this. It’s really good, and turns any pile of pasta or rice into a memorable meal. I hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 2 large or 4 smaller portions:

1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined (16/20 per pound size, bigger is better)

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or more if you’re sexy

1 teaspoon salt, or to taste

2 or 3 tablespoons olive oil, enough to generously coat the shrimp

1/2 large yellow onion, sliced

1/2 tsp dried oregano, or 2 tsp of fresh

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 cup drinkable white wine

11/2 cups can crushed San Marzano tomatoes

2 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley

2 tablespoons sliced fresh basil leaves

*some people like lemon, but I don’t think it needs it unless your wine was too sweet.

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Steamed fish with black bean sauce and tomato

22:06

•

Seafood

Chinese New Year is just a week away. In Chinese tradition, fish is always a must have for the festive meal. Fish is auspicious to symbolise there will always be plenty year after year. In Chinese phrase it is called 'nian nian you yu' 年年有餘 or 年年有魚. Here the word fish 魚 sounds the same as 餘 which means plenty left.

Steamed fish is very popular for any Chinese festive meals. Fish for steaming

READ MORE