notes from my food diary

Had a lovely dinner with fish almost two weeks ago. I almost always love steamed fish because the flavor of the fish shines through, it’s delicate, and it comes with garnishes that I’m nuts about: cilantro, green onion and ginger. Here’s a recipe that combines the traditional ingredients in Chinese-style steamed fish dish with Southeast Asian flavor—fish sauce and lemon grass, and Japanese tradition—sake. The ingredients intermingled quite nicely I must say, they’re complementing each other rather than fighting to be noticed individually. Served this with steamed rice, sauteed vegetable dish and you’ll have a quite nice and round dinner.

Steamed Fish with Ginger-Wine Sauce
Yields 8 servings

3/4 cup thinly sliced green onions
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
3 tablespoons minced peeled fresh ginger
2 tablespoons sake (rice wine)
1 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon finely chopped peeled fresh lemon grass
1/2 teapoon sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon dried pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
4 (6-ounce) cod fillets
1/4 cup red bell pepper, cut into 1/8-inch strips
Cilantro sprigs to your liking

Combine first 11 ingredients in a 13×9-inch baking dish. Marinate fish in refrigerator 2 hours, turning occasionally.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Bake fish mixture (including marinade) at 350 degrees for 17 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork. Garnish with bell pepper and cilantro.

Source: adapted from Cooking Light, January 2002

Ever since I moved to the US, I’ve developed an affinity for cakes, specifically crab cakes, salmon cakes, shrimp cakes, or any other dish with the same method of preparation. This type of dish is good for appetizer and also good for a main dish. There is something about the dish that I almost always want to order it when I’m in a restaurant. I think it may be the slight crunchiness of the crumbs and the sweet tasting of the fresh ingredients. When the cakes are not filled with filler, the main ingredient really shines and we could taste it immediately. When the cake is cut by a fork, it flakes easily. There are a variety of vegetables to be used with the main ingredient of the cake plus fresh herbs to enhance them. To make tender cakes you have to makes sure that the main ingredient is flaked to larger pieces and you don’t want to mash all of the ingredients. Gently fold with a rubber spatula and light handwork when forming the round cakes are a must.

I’ve tried a few recipes for salmon cakes and I’ve paired it with different side dishes. I like them with rice pilaf and steamed vegetables. I like them with Caesar salad. I like them grilled vegetables. I like them with or without sauce. And I like them with pasta. I chose to do with fettucine alfredo this time and I loved my decision My husband is very particular in the way that a fish is prepared. He much prefer a fish cooked Indonesian style, but he never fails to finish my salmon cakes. Of course fry-pan a bread crumb coated fish is always a sure way to make some people eat their fish.

The Salmon book by Diane Morgan is a small, wonderful book. Although it doesn’t have the most comprehensive story/technique for salmon, it has recipes which seems too good not to try. Besides she hails from Portland, Oregon; which make her a local author for me. She included her rendition of Javanese roasted salmon which was a very popular dish at Saucebox restaurant in Portland. That may be the next recipe I want to try. I was browsing books in the library when I came across her book accidentally. When I was going to make the salmon cakes I absent-mindedly returned the book back already, so I had to come back and borrowed it again. I finally made them this week and was excited that Morgan’s salmon cakes were very good. She used ginger in the them and I kinda like it that way. A lovely dish through and through and another winning recipe.

Salmon Cakes
Makes 12 salmon cakes; serves 6 as an appetizer

1 salmon fillet (12 ounces), skin and pin bones removed
2 teaspoons olive oil
Kosher or sea salt
Freshly ground pepper
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespon peeled and minced fresh ginger
1/2 cup diced white onion
1/2 cup finely diced celery
1/2 cup finely diced red bell pepper
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspooon minced fresh thyme
2 teaspoons snipped fresh chives
2 tablespoons minced fresh flat-leaf parsley

1 1/4 cups panko (Japanese bread crumbs)
3 or more tablespoons olive oil

Preheat the oven to 250°F. Place the salmon in a shallow baking dish, rub all over with the olive oil, and season lightly with salt and pepper to taste. Bake the fish until the fat between the layers turns opaque, almost white, and the fish flakes slightly when pierced with a knife, 20 to 25 minutes. Alternately, insert an instant-red thermometer into the thickest part of the salmon; when it registers 125° to 130°F, the fish is done. Set aside to cool.

Meanwhile, in a nonstick skillet or sautē pan, melt 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat and swirl to coat the pan. Add the ginger, onion, celery, and bell pepper. Sautē, stirring frequently, until the vegetables are soft but not brown, about 4 minutes. Add 1/2 teaspoons of salt and a few grinds of pepper. Set aside to cool.

In a mixing bowl, combine the mayonnaise, lemon juice, cayenne pepper, thyme, chives, and parsley. Stir to blend. Using a fork, flake the salmon into small pieces and add it to the mixing bowl. Add the vegetables. Using a rubber spatula, gently mix the ingredients, being careful not to mash the salmon. Form the mixture into 12 cakes about 1 3/4 inches in diameter and 1/2 inch thick. Place the salmon cakes on a rimmed baking sheet, cover, and refrigerate for at least 40 minutes or up to 8 hours.

To finish and fry the salmon cakes, spread the bread crumbs on a dinner plate and pat the salmon cakes in the bread crumbs, coating all sides well. Set aside. In a large sautē pan, preferably cast iron, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons butter and 3 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat. Swirl to coat the pan. Working in batches and without crowding the pan, brown the salmon cakes on one side, about 3 minutes, then flip them over and brown the other side, about 3 minutes longer. Add a little bit of olive oil as needed. Serve immediately.

Source: adapted from Salmon: A Cookbook by Diane Morgan

To dissapate my boredom because of snow day today (we’re stuck at home), I’m going to write about what I made for lunch yesterday. One of the quickest lunches to make and not to mention tasty too. My hubby and son went home from walking in the park next to our home and I was so happy to see my son gobbled up his lunch to the end! I added rice pilaf and cooked corns for him because those are his favorite foods, while for us the adults, some green salads will suffice.

Crispy Breaded Tilapia with Classic Tartar Sauce
Serves 4

1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons minced red onion
2 tablespoons sweet pickle relish or dill pickle relish
2 tablespoons minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon caper, drained, rinsed, and chopped
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 large eggs
2 cups fresh white breadcrumbs
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 skinless tilapia fillets (about 4 ounces each)
Vegetable oil for the pan
1 large lemon, cut into wedges

Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 200 degree F. Line a baking sheet with paper towels and set aside.

In a small bowl, stir together the mayonnaise, red onion, relisth, parsley, capers, and lemon juice. Cover and refrigerate.

Line up three wide shallow dishes. Put the flour in the first; beat the eggs lightly in the second; put the breadcrumbs in the third. Season the tilapia with salt and pepper. Working with one fillet at a time, coat it with flour and shake off the excess. Then dip the fillet in the egg and dredge it in the breadcrumbs, patting them on to help them adhere. Set each breaded fillet on a plate or tray as you finish it.

Pour the oil 1/4 inch deep into a 10- to 12-inch skillet. Heat over medium heat until it is hot but not smoking, or until a breadcrumb sizzles and browns quickly when dropped in the oil. Cook two of the tilapia fillets until they are crisp and browned, 2 to 3 minutes on each side. Transfer to the baking sheet, sprinkle with salt, and keep warm in the oven while you cooke the remaining two fillets.

Serve immediately with lemon wedges and the tartar sauce.

Source: Fine Cooking, April/May 2006

It’s time to post something other than cake!

Crab season usually started in the winter time and I’ve enjoyed eating steamed crabs, stir-fried crabs or any other style of cooking with crabs. Being an Indonesian by birth and sometimes am quite lazy, I even eat steamed crabs with fresh cut chilli with sweet soy sauce and steamed rice. Afterwards, my garbage bin would smell like the stinking ocean for weeks

Here is one simple preparation to eat your crabs, especially when they’re on sale and you would want to save the meat for some other time.

Gold Medal Crab Fried Rice
Serves 4

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 cup cold cooked long-grain rice, grains separated
4 egg yolks, lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 pound uncooked medium shrimp, shelled, deveined, and cut into 1/2-inch pieces——I left them whole
1/4 pound crabmeat, flaked and picked over for shells
2 green onions, trimmed, cut into 2-inch lengths, and shredded
2 tablespoons water
1/2 teaspoons salt
1/8 teaspoon ground white pepper

Cooked shelled crabmeat from 2 leg segments (optional)
Cooked meat from 1 lobster tail, cut into bite-sized pieces (optional)
2 teaspoon tobiko caviar, optional

Heat a wok over medium heat until hot. Add 1 tablespoon of the oil and swirl to coat the sides. Reduce the heat to low, add the rice, and egg yolks, and cook, stirring continuously, until each grain of rice is coated with the yolk and golden, about 2 minutes.

Increase the heat to high, make a well in the center of the rice to expose the bottom of the wok, and add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Drop the garlic and shrimp into the well and stir constantly until the shrimp turn pink, 1 to 1 1/2 minutes.

Stir the shrimp and rice together. Add the flaked crabmeat, half the green onions, the water, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring, until heated through, 1 to 2 minutes.

Scoop the rice onto a serving platter, garnish with the remaining green onion and crab leg meat, lobster, and caviar, if suing, and serve immediately.

Source: Martin Yan’s Chinatown Cooking