Tag Archive for 'fish'

Slow roasted whole snapper

Published
by
marc
on July 2, 2008
in Dinner party, Mediterranaen, Roast and Seafood
. 4 Comments

After my success with a slow roasted sockeye fillet, I decided to apply the technique to a whole fish.

This is one of those dishes that is very impressive looking and yet requires almost no work at all. The perfect dish for a dinner party. If you get the fish monger to clean and scale the fish for you, all you need do is throw all the ingredients in a roasting pan and stick it in the oven for about an hour and a half. It’s all done in one pan making it’s own sauce to boot

If cooking whole fish isn’t your thing you could probably do this with a fillet although you’ll need to adjust your cooking times and you may want to par boil your potatoes.
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Slow roasted salmon with peanut curry sauce and snap pea slaw

Published
by
marc
on June 21, 2008
in Asian, Dinner, Dinner party, Roast, Seafood, Southeast and Uncategorized
. 12 Comments

When it comes to seafood, common knowledge tells us to cook it hot and fast, so when I saw slow roasted Steelhead on the menu at the Painted Lady in Newberg Oregon, I was skeptical. I guess curiosity won over my skepticism because I ordered it.

The dish as a whole was a disaster. There was so much going on I can’t even remember half the things in/on/around the steelhead, but the limp overdressed arugula and prosciutto were memorable as was the fact that the dish was sooo salty I couldn’t taste much of anything else. Though in all fairness to the restaurant, the service was very friendly and the appetizer and dessert were both good.

So if it sounds bad and tasted bad, why would I make my own rendition?

As I said, the dish as a whole was a disaster. The slow roasted Steelhead on the other hand was transformational! As I was eating it, I went back and forth between oral bliss as the Steelhead melted into a pool of flavor on my tongue and utter indignation over the travesty that was on my fork.

Determined to fix this injustice I spent the next few days contemplating what I’d pair with the moist and melty morsels. This peanut and spicy red curry sauce melds perfectly with the creaminess and earthiness of the roasted salmon while the crispy, sweet and minty slaw strikes a pleasing juxtaposition, that will cool your palette and bring a smile to your face.

A couple things to note, use the best sockeye salmon or steelhead trout you can find (wild and line caught ideally). When making the sauce, don’t let it boil as the oil will separate (I turned my back for a few minutes as I was reheating it and it boiled which is why the photo doesn’t look so great).
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Hamachi with yuzu and olive oil

Published
by
marc
on May 8, 2008
in Appetizer, Asian, Japanese and Seafood
. 9 Comments

This is actually one of my favourite ways to have sashimi. It’s so simple and light, somewhere between carpaccio and ceviche. The 2 types of yuzu add a phenomenal flavor with a floral tartness form the juice and a bit of green spice from the yuzu kosho. The salt crystals, provide little bursts of brine on your tongue and the olive oil brings it all together without being greasy.

What’s yuzu kosho you ask? It’s one of my favourite condiments, right up there with Thai sweet chili sauce. It’s made with yuzu rind, green chiles and salt making a rough paste (a bit like wasabi) that’s spicy, salty and intensely citrusy. It’s a little too potent to use like ketchup, but it can be mixed into mayo, dressings, olive oil, soups, sautes, bbq sauces, the list goes on… It is a bit hard to find, but I scoured the Internet and found it here for about 12 bucks. Sounds a bit pricey for such a small bottle, but trust me, it goes a long way.

Well, I’m off to Houston for the rest of the week, so I won’t be posting till I get back on Monday, but I hope everyone has an awesome weekend!

sashimi grade hamachi (yellowtail)
yuzu kosho
good quality olive oil
yuzu juice (you could substitute lemon or lime juice)
sea salt ( I used Portuguese fleur de sel)

Put a plate in the freezer for a few minutes to get it very cold.

Using a very sharp knife, and cold hands, slice the hamachi into thin slices.

Place the hamachi on the chilled plate then place a small dab of yuzu kosho on each slice. Drizzle with olive oil, a couple of splashes of yuzu juice and then sprinkle some sea salt on top.

Serve immediately.

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Hamachi wrapped in ramp kimchi

Published
by
marc
on May 3, 2008
in Appetizer, Asian, Japanese and Seafood
. 7 Comments

I know what you all must be thinking “enough with the ramp recipes”. I promise I’m starting to reach the bottom of the bag from my most recent foraging trip, so you shouldn’t see many more:-) In case you’re still looking for a place to buy ramps, there are a few sellers on ebay you may want to check out.

This is less a recipe and more a way to serve the ramp kimchi I made last week. The cold creamy texture of the hamachi makes a perfect foil for the intensely briny and spicy kimchi. This goes well with an ice cold glass of soju (korean vodka) as an appetizer, or along with a bowl of rice and some other small dishes as a main.

ramp kimchi (garlic chive kimchi works as well)
sashimi grade hamachi (yellowtail)

Put a plate in the freezer for a few minutes to get it very cold.

Using a very sharp knife, and cold hands, slice the hamachi into moderately thin slices (a little less than 1/4″).

Working quickly, wrap each piece of hamachi in a ramp leaf then plate. You want to handle sashimi as little as possible as the heat from your hands will melt the fat in the fish and change its texture.

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Cured Tai (Japanese snapper)

Published
by
marc
on April 30, 2008
in Japanese and Seafood
. 13 Comments

This past weekend I made my monthly run across the Hudson to Mitsuwa for Japanese groceries. Their selection is quite impressive and I’m always finding new stuff to buy. Going on an empty stomach would be a mistake for the wallet, but thankfully they have a decent food court which happens to have one of my favourite bowls of ramen in the area. But I digress…

Recent beef find aside, I usually make the trek out to Edgewater for their large selection of fresh sashimi grade seafood. Since you want to eat sashimi as fresh as possible it’s usually best to eat it the day you buy it. To make my haul last a bit longer I buy a couple types of fish specifically for curing in salt. This makes it last a few days or longer (depending on the amount of salt you use).

One of the the best fish for curing is Tai. This fish is loaded with umami and once cured can be eaten drizzled in olive oil, on a salad, or over a bowl of rice with hot green tea poured on top (ochazuke) which gently cooks the fish and turns the tea into a savory broth. If I’m eating it straight I’ll usually use less salt, but if I’m going to use it for ochazuke I’ll load it up with plenty of salt as it seasons the broth.
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