Lemongrass Steamed Fish

Over on the other blog I write for I've been blathering about how much I love Asian markets and all the crazy ingredients that are to be found there.  Last week I wrote about all the crazy things I bought on my last trip through the Asian groceries of Madison and today I posted a delicious and easy soup recipe that I used to combine all the things I bought.   Now Tom Yum Kung soup is one of my favorite things to make. It seems complicated but it comes together super easily.

The only problem with a recipe like that and all the specialty ingredients is you are inevitably stuck with left over bits of things you have no idea what to do with.  Like lemongrass tends to come in big bunches but each recipe only calls for one stalk, so what to do with the rest?  Or you managed to track down lime leaves and galangal and they were kind of expensive so you don't want the rest to just rot, now what?

Steamed fish is the perfect solution.  Gather all the left over bits of Asian oddities and pile them on fish, wrap them up in parchment and you have an easy but creative dish that will save those stalks of lemongrass from going to waste.  It isn't pretty but it's very tasty and with just enough spice to be exciting.

Lemon Grass Steamed Fish

2 fillets of swordfish or other meaty fish

2 dried red chili peppers, chopped

2 limes, zested

4 thin slices of galangal (or ginger)

2 stalked lemon grass, bashed up with the edge of a knife and cut into 2 inch lengths

1/2 cup sake or white wine

2 dashes of fish sauce

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Cut two pieces of parchment paper a bit larger than your pieces of fish.  Pat dry each fish fillet and season with salt and pepper on both sides before putting each piece of fish on a square of parchment.  

Sprinkle the top of each piece of fish with chili pepper, lime zest, galangal and lemongrass.  Now comes the interesting part.  Using string or staples gather together the parchment so that the fish is wrapped up like a present with just a small opening at the top of the packet.  When the fish is secured in the parchment, carefully pour 1/4 cup of sake into each wrapped up piece of fish.  Then drizzle in just a little bit of fish sauce to each fish packet.

Bake for about 20 minutes or until a knife stuck into the fish meets little resistance.  Be careful unwrapping the fish so that you don't get burnt by the steam.  

Modified from an idea in Suzanne Pirret's The Pleasure is All Mine.

Cumin Crusted Lamb and Cashew Cauliflower

I have this habit of refusing to remember that the concept of marination is involved in cooking.  I read recipes ahead of time, comprehend the words "marinate over night" then selectively erase that phrase from my memory.  Then when the night comes that I want to make that recipe it's as if evil elves have come in and rearranged the world since the last time I looked at the recipe and malevolently invented the word "marinate" just to torture me.  Well at least that's how it feels when I'm looking forward to something for dinner and see that horrible world and realize that not only do I have to make new plans for dinner I also have to prep a part of tomorrow's dinner.  And darn it at that point I just want to eat.

I mean I'll follow some pretty crazy cooking instructions with no problem but marinating things just irks me every time, I never learn.  Twice last week this happened to me as if I was trying to subliminally teach myself a lesson by planning to eat two recipes with one of my least favorite words in it.  This recipe for cumin crusted lamb was totally worth eating dinner late while waiting for the meat to get all sticky and soft in the egg white and saki.  The meal was amazing and the chemistry of the marinade really did something wonderful to the texture of the lamb so that I would be more than happy to eat this again.  The slightly spicy cashew cauliflower only made the meal better.

However the spicy chicken thighs I had planned for tricked me two nights in a row.  So I added "marinating" to the list of things I'm leaving to the fella from now on since I'm apparently unable to grasp the concept.  He was more than happy to prep the chicken and really loved the end result.  I don't know if it was because I was still holding a grudge against that recipe for making me have to re-plan dinner or if the recipe wasn't just for me but I wasn't a fan.

So there you have it of all of the things I can do I'm stymied by the idea of putting meat in tasty liquid over night to make it even more tasty.  How sad is that?  I maintain that all recipes that have a marination step should start out with "warning marination ahead" in big bold letter before the ingredient list just to prevent these sort of cooking failures from happening.  Who is with  me?

Cumin Crusted Lamb

1 egg white

1 tablespoon rice wine or saki

2 teaspoons rice flour

1 teaspoon salt, more to taste

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 pound boneless leg of lamb or lamb shoulder, cut into strips about 1/2 inch by 2 inches

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 tablespoons cumin seeds, lightly cracked in a mortar or grinder

2 tablespoons whole dried red chili peppers

4 scallions, white and green parts only, cut on diagonal into 1-inch lengths

Sesame oil, for seasoning.

In a deep medium sized bowl combine egg white, wine, rice flour, salt and pepper. Add lamb and set aside to MARINATE 1 HOUR. 

Heat a large skillet (non stick works best) over high heat until a drop of water sizzle on contact. Swirl half the oil into pan and carefully add lamb, spreading it in a single layer. Let sear a moment, then stir-fry briskly just until lamb is no longer pink on the outside. Transfer to a plate. 

Swirl remaining oil into empty pan, add cumin seeds and chilies and stir-fry a few seconds until cumin seeds start to pop. 

Add scallions and stir-fry 1 minute. Then return lamb to pan and stir-fry 1 to 2 minutes more until lamb is cooked through. Turn off heat, sprinkle with salt and drops of sesame oil, and serve immediately.

Original recipe in New York Times food section.

Cashew Cauliflower

2 tablespoons oil

1 shallot, diced

1 medium head cauliflower, cut in florets

1 star anise

2 dried red chilies

salt and pepper, to taste

1/2 cup of water

1/2 cup cashews

Place oil in large frying pan over medium low heat.  Cook shallot in oil until softened but not browned, about 5 minutes.  Add cauliflower and raise heat to medium high to brown the cauliflower.  When the cauliflower has some color to it and is just starting to get tender, add the star anise, chilies, and salt and pepper.  Stir fry ingredients for another minute.  

Add water to the pan, turn heat back to medium low and cover.  Cook for about 10 minutes or until cauliflower is tender.

Remove cover from cauliflower and add cashews to pan until they're toasted, raising heat if necessary.  Remove star anise and chilies to serve.

Modified from a recipe in Padma Lakshmi's Tangy Tart Hot and Sweet.

Super Easy Edamame Rice

 

 Beets are one of those things I never thought I'd find myself craving.  Somewhere along the way  loving  raw beets seems to have became a side effect of being on this diet, much like random urges to ribbon vegetables or picking the most complicated recipe in a cookbook to prepare  just to have something really cool to write about.  Living sans most carbs and sugar does funny things to the brain.  Suddenly everything tastes better.  Yes, even beets.

The fella and I are the type of people that always have a bit of left over brown rice around in the fridge for eating with impromptu curries.  I also had a bag of pre-cooked and pre-shelled edamame that I found in the freezer section of an Asian grocery that I had once had big ideas for but then quickly forgot about.  So I thawed that neglected edamame, re-warmed the rice and tossed in a few other things and tada a really simple Asian tinged rice salad using things that were otherwise languishing in the fridge. 

I'm always the most surprised at really simple thrown together that are this delicious.  Sometimes while cooking up a storm with really complex recipes I forget that something like raw beets and some rice can be amazing.  This was exactly what I needed to eat tonight and with some good Spanish wine things got even better. 

El Hada is a blend of Verdejo and Viura grapes making a perfect blend of tart and sweet in one delicious wine.  I don't know what it is about Spanish wines that make then so great and easy to drink but this wine has it all.  Tart fruit and a bright velvety sweetness with an intriguing nose of citrus and roses.  And who knew it would go so well with Edamame. 

 

 

 Super Easy Edamame Rice

3 tablespoons sesame seeds

2 cups cooked brown rice
2 small beets, diced
1 cup edamame, cooked and shelled (I used frozen already cooked and shelled edamame)

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

In a small pan toast sesame seeds until browned, set aside.

If using left over brown rice place in microwave to warm until a bit past room temperature.  If using freshly cooked brown rice place it in a medium bowl along with the beets, edamame and toasted sesame seeds.  Toss well.

In a small bowl make a vinaigrette with the oils, lemon juice and sea salt.  Whisk or shake well to combine.  Pour over the rice mixture and combine well.

Modified from a recipe on Food52 blog.

Sushi Bowls

Since I've had the money to develop a taste for it sushi has been both my comfort food and the meal I'm most likely to splurge on for a special occasion. It was definitely the food I was most worried about losing to the French diet, necessitating a pricey sushi binge the day before the diet began. Fortunately we've been making so many meals that have either been so delicious or so odd I haven't had much time to lust after sushi. Much.

This next best thing for next time the overwhelming urge for sushi appears and made totally diet friendly by substituting brown rice for the traditional sticky white and using only good low carb fats and veggies It's also good for sushi when you're feeling lazy and cheap because the ingredients are readily available and there is no rolling or Japanese food artistry necessary.

I'm not a big fan of the texture of tofu however so we substituted a nice firm tasty tempah for tofu which made preparing this even easier. And the fella dislikes avocado with a passion so he used cucumber on his portion. Overall he just wasn't that into this faux sushi experience, the real thing isn't his favorite but it's a sign of his niftyness that he acquiesced to a meal he would never eat on his own just for my love of sushi. It was glorious, I may eat nothing but this when the fella goes out of town in May.

Sushi Bowls


2 cups short-grain brown rice
3 1/2 cups water
2 teaspoons fine grain sea salt
2 (4-inch) square sheets nori seaweed
6 ounces extra-firm tofu


grated zest and juice of one orange
grated zest and juice of 1/2 lemon
2 teaspoons fructose
2 tablespoons shoyu sauce (or soy sauce)
2 tablespoons (brown) rice vinegar


4 green onions, chopped
1 avocado, peeled, pitted, and thinly sliced
3 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted


Rinse and drain the rice two or three times. Combine the rice, water, and salt in a heavy saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat, cover, and simmer gently until the water is absorbed, about 45 minutes.


Toast the nori in a preheated 300F degree oven or a medium-hot skillet for a few minutes. Crumble or chop coarsely.


Drain the tofu and pat it dry. Cut the block of tofu lengthwise through the middle to make four 1/4-to 1/2-inch thick sheets of tofu. Two at a time, cook in a dry skillet or well-seasoned skillet over medium-high for a few minutes until browned on one side. Flip gently, then continue cooking for another minute or so, until the tofu is firm, golden, and bouncy. Let cool, enough to handle, then cut crosswise into matchsticks. Repeat with the remaining sheets.


To make the dressing, combine the orange juice, lemon juice, and fructose in a small saucepan and bring to a gentle boil. Cook for 1 or 2 minute, the add the shoyu and vinegar. Return to a gentle boil and cook another 1 or 2 minutes, until slightly thickened. Remove from the heat and stir in the zests.


When the rice is done, stir in 1/3 cup of the dressing and add more to taste. Scoop the rice into individual bowls and top with the toasted nori, green onions, tofu, avocado slices, and a sprinkling of sesame seeds.


Original recipe from 101 Cookbooks Blog.

Frosted Green Beans with Sesame Seeds

Unfortunately I have no picture of these delicious beans to show you due to the fact that I was hiding under a blanket on the couch and cursing the world while they were being prepared. I have a nasty feeling that I've managed to catch the plague of ickiness that is going around town especially the call center I work in 40 hours a week. Therefore cooking duties were passed on to the fella this evening. He gets major boyfriend brownie points because not only did he take care of me, he dealt with me saying none of our planned recipes sounded good and then managed to make a really great meal that stuck to the insane parameters of what I thought I could handle eating.

He marinaded some salmon fillets in equal parts soy sauce and sesame oil, then pan fried them, it was simple but amazing. This is what is known in our house as “butt fish”, as in a really great secret discovery that was created and will be used again by using ingredients one of us has pulled randomly out of our bum. I eat a lot of different varieties of “butt chicken” when I cook for myself. Let me tell you our lingo gets confusing when other people are around, there is a lot of slang and secret codes used.

Following the sesame seed theme he also whipped up some Sesame Green Beans which were a breeze to make and were shockingly good. It worked even though green beans are way out of season at the moment, I can only imagine making these again in a few months with less anemic beans. Yum. I'm always so pleased when a simple recipe turns out to be a keeper, something that takes so little effort that it can be enjoyed often.

So here's to the fella for making the best comfort food butt dinner a sniffly girl could ask for.

Frosted Green Beans with Sesame Seeds


4 cups green beans, trimmed
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
2 tablespoons butter
2 scallions, thinly sliced
1 lemon, zested and juiced
oil for drizzling


Cook the beans in salted boiling water for about 10 minutes, drain and set aside. While waiting for beans to boil put sesame seeds in a pan over medium high heat and toast, agitate them regularly so they don't burn then set aside in a small bowl.


In the same frying pan melt butter then add scallions and cook over low heat for about 5 minutes or until softened. Stir in the lemon juice and zest then add beans to pan, season with salt and pepper and simmer for another 5 to 10 minutes.


Transfer beans to a serving dish and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds and drizzle with a small amount of oil. Mix thoroughly and enjoy.


Original recipe from The Silver spoon Cookbook.

Chicken Satay Salad

Anything involving peanut butter is a winner in my book and this did not disappoint. Added bonus was that it was insanely easy. We made it even easier still seeing as the fella roasted a whole chicken the day before, stuffing it with garlic, parsley, onion, sage, rosemary, and lemon grass to create the best extremely juicy bird in recent memory. We used the carcass to make stock and the left over meat for this recipe, totally skipping the chicken skewer preparation.

Tada dinner in 5 minutes.

This was a welcome change from recent overly complicated meals which I will be returning to tomorrow. Until then I've had quite the evening of rude yuppies at the wine store and then the cork broke in my bottle or Carmenere so I believe the world it not so gently telling me to go to bed.

Chicken Satay Salad


2 chicken breasts
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
1 garlic clove, diced
1 tablespoon, canola oil
wooden skewers, soaked in water


8 ounces of arugula or baby spinach
1 cup bean sprouts
2 carrots, ribboned
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped


DRESSING:
1 tablespoon peanut butter
1/2 teaspoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 lime, juiced
2 tablespoons oil


Soak about a dozen wooden skewers in water for around 20 minutes so they won't scorch under broiler. Slice chicken into long strips. Toss chicken pieces in ginger, garlic, and oil then season with black pepper. Heat the broiler. Twist chicken strips in half and thread on the skewers. Broil for about 10 minutes, turning halfway through cooking time.


Whisk together all of the dressing ingredients in a small bowl. Combine arugula, bean sprouts, carrots and cilantro, divide evening among salad bowls. Top with chicken skewers and drizzle with dressing to serve.


Original recipe from The Big GL Plus Diet Planner.

Angel Hair Pasta and Vegetable Ribbons

If there is one thing I've learned in cooking very esoteric French recipes the last two days is that the French have a weird thing about celery.

Last night I made a delicious vegetable and pasta dish from Daniel Boulud and Dorie Greenspan's Cafe Boulud Cookbook that had some of the most random mind boggling preparation instructions I have ever seen. The first of which instructed me to peel four stalks of celery. Celery needs peeling? How does one even go about doing that? I refuse to believe that I'm the only person who has never heard of such a thing. Figuring the French must have very different celery and not seeing a celery peel in sight I moved on to the next step.

“Using a vegetable peeler, cut long ribbons from the celery by running peeler down the length of the vegetables. Don't worry if they're not all the same size—just try to keep the ribbons long and thin.” The thing that worried me was that when I held the celery over the bowl of water it was supposed to be shredding into the celery stalks kept breaking. All I was ribboning was my fingers. I made it through three of the stalks making very sad uneven stalks when the fella came home.

“Don't look I'm doing something very embarrassing,” I yelled running to the door with a vegetable peeler and slightly bruised fingers. One of the many reasons I keep him around is that he barely flinches at these almost daily declarations of near insanity that meet him at the door. He just gave me a kiss and probably let his imagine wander through the possibilities before he wandered into the kitchen a few minutes later.

He stopped in the doorway and raised and eye brow. I could tell he was trying to convince himself to just do dishes and not get pulled into my craziness. “Okay I gotta ask. What are you doing?”

“Making ribbons. I dunno it's French. This recipe is overwhelming me already. I don't know if I can do this.” I threw the remaining celery stalk on the cutting board and tried to avoid a mini cooking tantrum of frustration, the kind that tends to pepper my meal preparation when I'm making something new. This ribbon making thing seemed really unnecessary and was starting to get to me. I decided to take it out on the celery, I pinned it down to the cutting board and frantically took the peeler to it. To my great surprise beautiful even ribbons of celery started piling up. I guess amongst all the other steps Boulud didn't have time to add this helpful bit of ribbon making instructions.

Next I was to bruise lemongrass and bind it to cilantro. This was starting to get a tad kinky for pasta preparation but I followed all the seemingly random instructions none the less. I still don't know why the scallions needed to be cut on the bias or the shallots patted dry several times but I'm not a famous French chef so just barely kept myself from ripping out my hair as I did every little picky thing he asked. There was a fair amount of huffing and puffing and sighing during the ritual however.

The recipe instructions are semi out of order for a kitchen without a sous chef and for all the importance he places on exactly how to chop vegetables, once the food is in the pot he doesn't have a lot of advice about what is going on. Somehow I got the broth made, the pasta boiled, sesame seeds toasted, and shallots fried while everything was still hot even though Boulud's instructions were backwards as all hell. For example he didn't mentioned the sesame seeds needed to be toasted until the end of the recipe when I was supposed to be garnishing and all the dishes were already dirty.

Lucky for you I translated the recipe into something that makes a little more sense. There are a lot of ingredients that need a fair bit of attention and a lot of steps to get right or you end up with cold broth and pasta stuck together waiting for the shallots to finish browning. The important part is getting all the vegetables taken care of before beginning to cook anything, that takes away a lot of the frustration. And I hope I separated the steps out so that it makes easier to understand what needs to happen when. It seems a bit much but Boulud must have a reason for all of it because this is one of the best things I've taken the time to cook. It was filling, had complex textures, and was really flavorful.

This time I even think I got the wine right. Seven Daughters is a blend of seven white varietals from California. For a kitschy wine that's marketed towards being “the perfect girl's night out wine” according to their overly flashy wine site it had a rather intricate flavor.

It started out with a buttery chardonnay flavor with hints of honey and Riesling on the front of the tongue. Towards the back of the mouth the Sauvignon Blanc became out more and there was a bit of a pleasant green summer vegetable flavor that really brought out the leek in the pasta. All in all a decent white blend in the $10 to $15 price range though it wasn't my favorite, after one glass it all the competing varietals became cloyingly sweet. After all that aggravating recipe translation you better bet I earned that second glass and a goofy movie curled up with my fella and our pup.

Angel Hair Pasta and Vegetable Ribbons

4 stalks celery, trimmed
1 medium leek, white part only, quartered lengthwise and washed

1 one inch length of lemongrass, bruised
3 sprigs cilantro
small length of cooking twine

4 cups water
2 tablespoons soy sauce
7 ounces of mushrooms, trimmed and quartered (original recipe calls for enoki, I used white button mushrooms)
(original recipe also called for 16 shiitake mushrooms which I could not find in time to cook this meal)
1 bunch scallions, trimmed and cut on the bias in 1 inch lengths
1 tablespoon finely slivered ginger

1 teaspoon sesame oil
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes

½ pound angel hair pasta
2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds

2 medium shallots sliced very thinly with mandolin or sharp knife
2 tablespoons flavorless oil

1 lime
3 tablespoons cilantro leaves for garnish

Find a skillet, pot to boil pasta in, a small bowl, a large mixing bowl, and a soup pot. (The timing of the recipe gets thrown if you don't have everything out and ready to use as you need it.)

Using a vegetable peeler, cut long ribbons from the celery. (I found this was easiest by putting celery round side down on cutting board and peeling ribbons from the top edge. When I held the celery I ended up mostly peeling myself.) Put the celery ribbons and quartered leek pieces in large bowl and pour enough water in to just cover vegetables. Set aside for now as you cut up the rest of the vegetables.

Tie lemongrass and cilantro together using kitchen twine. Place in soup pot and pour in the 4 cups of water, soy sauce, mushrooms, scallions, and ginger. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer for about 15 minutes.

Drain water from celery and leeks and place it in the pot you are going to boil pasta in. Add celery and leeks to broth along with sesame oil and red pepper flakes then simmer another 5 minutes. Start water boiling for pasta.

In skillet, put sesame seeds on medium heat to toast them. Agitate them regularly so that they don't burn. When toasted set aside.

While waiting for sesame seeds to toast and pasta water to boil, slice the shallot and place pieces in small bowl of cold water. When sesame seeds are finished wipe out the skillet. Put oil in skillet to heat up in order to cook shallots. About this time the pasta water should be ready so put pasta in to cook until just al dente. When oil is hot remove shallots from water and pat off with paper towels. Carefully toast shallots in oil until brown and caramelized. Remove from oil, pat off and set aside.

When pasta is al dente, drain it and divide it into 4 shallow bowls (or 2 bowls and save the other 2 portions for next day's lunch.) Squeeze lime into broth and stir briefly before ladling broth and vegetables over over the pasta. Top with fried shallots, cilantro and toasted sesame seeds.

Original recipe by Daniel Boulud