It's important for home cooks to have a few dishes up their sleeve that can be thrown together in ten minutes. They don't have to be our best work, nor do they have to be the healthiest meals in our repetoire. They simply have to be better than ordering a pizza (or getting take out) when you're hungry and pressed for time. I trot this recipe out when the hour gets late, we've not managed to eat supper and going out is not in the cards. It also makes a satisfying lunch. Substituite tofu for the chicken and you could feed it to a vegan without compromising much in the way of flavor.
This recipe is salty enough for me, but some may prefer a higher sodium level. Going heavier on the miso would provide that, while adding texture to the broth.
Exotic ingredients you'll need:
Kimchi - Korean spicy pickled cabbage, sold in jars in Asian markets. Keeps for over a month in the fridge. Tasty as a side dish or appetizer, but not for everyone. Good ingredient for Korean stews and fried rice, if you can manage to keep from snacking on it. When cooked it loses its aggressiveness, adding rich flavor and a hint of spice to a dish.
Miso - Health food nuts and fans of Japanese cuisine probably have this in their fridge already. I recommend white or red miso; both make delicious soup. Keeps for months in the fridge. Also pops up in Korean cooking, and makes a decent substitute for Chinese fermented soybean paste.
Toasted Sesame Oil - You don't need it for this dish, but it adds one more layer of flavor. And you may as well pick it up when you get the miso, since a few drops go well in miso soup. This seasoning is added at the last minute in very small amounts.
Udon Noodles - Fresh or frozen, these are useful to have around. This will be the third recipe I've given for them on this blog, and you can easily find many more. Sometimes nothing is better than a bowl of noodles, and you'll probably find these where you find the other ingredients on this list.
This recipe makes two large bowls of soup:
meat from a chicken leg and thigh, cut into bite sized pieces
4-5 cups water
3 scallions, cut into rounds
generous 3/4 cup kimchi
generous tbs miso
tsp sugar
1/4 -1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
pinch salt
oil for frying
few drops sesame oil
1/2 lb cooked udon noodles, rinsed
Heat water in pot with kinchi. Stir in miso once it's hot. Bring to a boil and remove from heat. In a small pan fry chicken with salt, sugar and cayenne pepper. When meat is cooked add scallions and remove from heat. Divide the noodles between two bowls, and top with a few drops sesame oil. Ladle hot miso-kinchi broth over noodles, then top with chicken-scallion mixture.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Baked Red Snapper
Fish. I've met some folks who really don't like it. Others claim to like it as long as it isn't "fishy". Some folks I know enjoy fish just fine, but can't handle it appearing on the serving plate with the head and tail intact. We all have our hangups. Fish is not one of mine. In fact, I'll take it over beef or chicken in most instances. (Nothing wins out against pork and lamb in my world, but a nice piece of fish is hard to beat).
The problem for many who would eat fish more often is how to go about it. How do you know which fish is a good one? How do you cook it? We live in a world where sushi joints have their fish flown in, so even those in land locked places can shell out the bucks to enjoy good quality raw fish. Farmed salmon and tilapia are everywhere, along with tuna and sea bass, but try finding fresh flounder in the Southwest. For all of our interconnectedness the fish counter often smacks of regionalism, if only in its pricing. That's not entirely a bad thing. I'm happy to eat lobster in Maine, Dungeness Crab in the Northwest and Blue Point Oysters in NYC. I want Blue Crabs in Maryland and catfish in the Deep South, but no matter where I happen to be I don't want to go too long without a fish dinner. Blame it on being raised Catholic.
Fortunately one of our best fishes is fairly ubiquitous: the red snapper. Very tasty fish. This fish makes Europeans jealous. They have their sea bream and their Dover sole, but the red snapper is about as good a fish as they come. The meat is delicate, yet it can stand up to bold flavors. It's forgiving - it can be prepared in a variety of ways, all equally good. And best of all it's relatively inexpensive, as far as fish goes. I got one yesterday that was just under three pounds, easily enough to feed five or six (or in my case four, with leftovers) for $15. Depending on where you live it may be a little more expensive, but it's not nearly as pricey as trendier choices, such as ahi tuna or Chilean Sea Bass.
I had my fishmonger scale and gut the snapper, leaving the head and tail on. This is standard issue, and I don't know how to ask for it any other way in Cantonese (or Mandarin, for that matter), so that's how I get it. That's how I recommend getting it, unless looking at a whole fish on a plate squicks you. Season it just about any way you like: butter & lemon, Cajun style, Caribbean style, whatever. The fish picks up the flavor of whatever it's baked with. I wanted simple and elegant, so I used onion, celery and rosemary, which worked beautifully. Thyme would have worked equally well. Along the center of the fish the fillets will be mostly free of bones. Meat from the top and bottom will be richer, but bonier. All of it will be delicious. Use a knife and a spatula to serve.
2-3 lb whole red snapper, scaled and cleaned
small onion, chopped
2-3 ribs celery, chopped
4-6 sprigs rosemary
Olive oil, salt and pepper
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Mix together onion, celery and most of the rosemary in a bowl, with a splash of olive oil, salt and pepper. Lay remaining sprigs of rosemary on baking dish, and place fish on top of them. Fill the cavity of the fish with the vegetable mixture, then use remainder to cover fish. Bake for about 35 minutes, or until meat flakes with a fork.
Serve with roasted tomatoes, potatoes or rice, a salad and dry white (or rose) wine. Leftovers can be reheated the next day, or served as a cold salad in vinaigrette.
Enjoy your fish. (The aftermath won't be so bad, as long as you get to the baking dish right after eating, and remember to take the garbage out that night!)
The problem for many who would eat fish more often is how to go about it. How do you know which fish is a good one? How do you cook it? We live in a world where sushi joints have their fish flown in, so even those in land locked places can shell out the bucks to enjoy good quality raw fish. Farmed salmon and tilapia are everywhere, along with tuna and sea bass, but try finding fresh flounder in the Southwest. For all of our interconnectedness the fish counter often smacks of regionalism, if only in its pricing. That's not entirely a bad thing. I'm happy to eat lobster in Maine, Dungeness Crab in the Northwest and Blue Point Oysters in NYC. I want Blue Crabs in Maryland and catfish in the Deep South, but no matter where I happen to be I don't want to go too long without a fish dinner. Blame it on being raised Catholic.
Fortunately one of our best fishes is fairly ubiquitous: the red snapper. Very tasty fish. This fish makes Europeans jealous. They have their sea bream and their Dover sole, but the red snapper is about as good a fish as they come. The meat is delicate, yet it can stand up to bold flavors. It's forgiving - it can be prepared in a variety of ways, all equally good. And best of all it's relatively inexpensive, as far as fish goes. I got one yesterday that was just under three pounds, easily enough to feed five or six (or in my case four, with leftovers) for $15. Depending on where you live it may be a little more expensive, but it's not nearly as pricey as trendier choices, such as ahi tuna or Chilean Sea Bass.
I had my fishmonger scale and gut the snapper, leaving the head and tail on. This is standard issue, and I don't know how to ask for it any other way in Cantonese (or Mandarin, for that matter), so that's how I get it. That's how I recommend getting it, unless looking at a whole fish on a plate squicks you. Season it just about any way you like: butter & lemon, Cajun style, Caribbean style, whatever. The fish picks up the flavor of whatever it's baked with. I wanted simple and elegant, so I used onion, celery and rosemary, which worked beautifully. Thyme would have worked equally well. Along the center of the fish the fillets will be mostly free of bones. Meat from the top and bottom will be richer, but bonier. All of it will be delicious. Use a knife and a spatula to serve.
2-3 lb whole red snapper, scaled and cleaned
small onion, chopped
2-3 ribs celery, chopped
4-6 sprigs rosemary
Olive oil, salt and pepper
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Mix together onion, celery and most of the rosemary in a bowl, with a splash of olive oil, salt and pepper. Lay remaining sprigs of rosemary on baking dish, and place fish on top of them. Fill the cavity of the fish with the vegetable mixture, then use remainder to cover fish. Bake for about 35 minutes, or until meat flakes with a fork.
Serve with roasted tomatoes, potatoes or rice, a salad and dry white (or rose) wine. Leftovers can be reheated the next day, or served as a cold salad in vinaigrette.
Enjoy your fish. (The aftermath won't be so bad, as long as you get to the baking dish right after eating, and remember to take the garbage out that night!)
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