Asian Snapper

I love this dish as a child and still do as an adult. My mum likes to steam fish for healthier way of eating. I, on the other hand, likes mine deep fried. Pretty much everything....fried chicken... fried soft shelled crabs, fried fish... etc..And this is why I am fat!

However, for today, I have decided to do a quick fry then baked the fish in the oven. Deep frying is far easier when you have a deep fryer.  Must get me one of those. Just bear in mind that if you do decide to fry, it can be rather sloppy and messy in a wok or pan.

Ingredients

Serves: 4

• 1 (approx 700 g) whole snapper, cleaned and scaled
• 1/2 cup fresh coriander leaves
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
• 1 French shallots, thinly sliced
• 2 small red chillies, sliced
• I tablespoon of kicap manis (sweet soy sauce)
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 whatchamallit of Buk Choy (chinese greens) 
• I packet of beansprouts
• I packet of shittake mushrooms

NOTE:
Extra Ginger thinly sliced and fried
Coriander leaves and fresh chilies for garnish

A few drops of sesame oil to sprinkle on dish before serving

Preparation method

Prep: 30 minutes   Cook: 30 minutes

1. Preheat oven to 190 degrees C.
2. Line a roasting pan with aluminum foil.
3. Stuff the cavity of the snapper with the coriander leaves and set aside.
4. Heat the oil in a large frypan over high heat until it begins to smoke. Place the snapper in the frypan, and quickly brown on both sides, about 1 minute total. Place the fish into the roasting pan, and sprinkle with fish sauce. Reserve the oil in the frypan.
5. Bake fish in preheated oven until the flesh flakes easily with a fork, 25 to 30 minutes.
6. Meanwhile, heat the remaining oil in the frypan over medium heat. Fry the garlic and ginger and shallots, removed when crunchy
7. Add kicap manis and water. 
8. In a wok, stir fry the Buk Choy, mushrooms and beansprouts on high heat for a few minutes.
9. Place the stir fried veges on a plate and rest your fish on top of the greens. Pour the sauce over the snapper, and garnish with extra coriander leaves to serve.
10. Sprinkle sesame oil on the dish. The smell of that alone will get them running to the table.
11. Serve with jasmine rice.

Happy Eating ;) Just don't look at those fishy eyes and you'll be right!!!

Fish ball paste

This weekend; after an epic fail in baking, Baking 1: Jackie 0. Feeling very defeated, far worse than when my macaron fail....like seriously guys, how could I get baking a premix wrong??? Pfffttttt! I am officially a baking retard!

So, I've decided to make my own fishballs. The reasons being

1. I couldn't be bothered with driving to ACT for a Chinese grocery run. I usually buy commercial bulk pack.
2. It doesn't involved baking. 
3. It's my favourite snack on stick
4. It's simple easy recipe, no Science degree required
5. Oh, have I mentioned? It doesn't require baking, no oven involved!!!
6. I can have it with my laksas during winter..
7. And whaddaya know... NO BAKING!!!!!

Recipe from http://redcook.net/2009/02/01/making-fish-paste/

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Rapid cooking time: 15 minutes

1 lb. white fish (pollock)

1/2 cup arrowroot starch (can be substituted with tapioca starch or cornstarch)

Egg white from 2 eggs

3 ice cubes (about 1-inch square)

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon white pepper

Cut up the fish into 1/2-inch cubes. Put all the ingredients except for the ice cubes in a food processor and blend for about two minutes or until smooth. Then add the ice cubes and continue to blend for another three minutes or so. The paste should be very thick with a lot of elasticity. The finished paste should be very smooth with no solid pieces of fish. Scoop the paste into a bowl and refrigerate for about an hour before using.

And what the heck is a pollock??? I used fresh Basa. I like Basa. It is very sweet and white and NON fishy taste. Nothing I hate more than a fish that is overpowering in smells and taste. 

So basically, keep the paste in the fridge for at least an hour. Once it is chilled and firm, or when you are ready to cook them, you can use the paste in just about anything. As you can see, I have stuffed some fish paste into some red chillies like yong tau foo. You can do that with tofu, peppers, beancurd sheets, rolled into balls for noodles, it can be deepfried and serve with chilli sauce or as a snack on a stick. You can even steam it for dimsum. Boil it in soups. It is up to your imagination, the possibilities are endless. 

Mmmmmmm.... fishballs for me ;) Yippppeeeeee

Basa Fish stir-fry

Today was my second day back at work for me and I was very tired by the time I got home. I had to stop at the post office to collect my parcels and get some dog food for the furkids on the way home and I was too buggered for dinner by then. But I figured that, I had better eat something other than durian, for dinner. This morning I was starving at work because I am sure that I only had durians last nite for tea.

So anyway, into the kitchen I go. Looking into the fridge and freezer; I have frozen veges and skinless fish fillets and a packet of tofu from my Asian food heist! Yup, simple and painless!

Tada! When in doubt, stir fry loh! Rita would totally agree with me on this one.

So in she goes into my saute pan. Oh! by the way, I do have a Scanpan Classic Saute Pan to giveaway in September. Please check out the this link for the giveaway which will be drawn in September 2011
http://yummystuffgoeshere.blogspot.com/p/kitchenware-direct-competition.html

The competition finishes in September but you can enter anytime. I want to take this opportunity as well, to thank Kitchenware Direct for sponsoring a beautiful Scanpan

Okay back to this dish now...heheheh ;)

Here is the easy and fast fish stirfry and I am taking some to work tomorrow.  Looks yummy, doesn't it?

Basa with sesame, ginger and soy

Having a lazy day after second day back at work. My body is in shock! So I need comfort food when I returned home from work. Tonite's dinner was very simple, lazy even.

Ingredients

I big brown sliced onion
Grab two fillets of frozen Basa Fish from freezer, do not defrost, cook from frozen.
Hand ful of green beans
I tablespoon of crushed ginger
2 teaspoon of sambal chilli 
Sesame oil
Dark Soy sauce

Method

1. Heat up sesame oil in wok.
2. sautee the onions till brown
3. Stir in the green beans and chillies
4. Add frozen fish, stir on low heat.
5. Add a little water... leave fish to cook in wok. 
6. Check flesh of fish make sure it is cooked through. Served up on plate when ready.
7. Drizzle some sesame oil on fish then dark soy sauce.
8. Served with rice when finished cooking.