baking salmon

 Every time I cook salmon, I have to look it up again.  So, putting it here. 

Frankly, I really like pan fried fish - I like that crispiness.  But, I hate the smell of fish cooking which is worth in a skillet.  Oven, less smell.

So:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. 

 

Lightly grease baking dish.  

 

Season salmon.  (I'm using lemon no-salt Dash now and I like it!)   

Bake in the oven for about 12 to 15 minutes. (No need to flip the fish.)

Flakiness indicates doneness.  It will cook more when out of the oven. 

 

Spanish needles - bidens alba

 You know those little white daisy looking flowers with the needles that stick in your socks and clothes?  They took over my front yard while I was gone, and I was yanking them out like crazy ... and then I noticed how the bees love them so I asked and learned what they are and did a little digging around and this site especially is helpful.

Here's the recipe I plan to make soon (as a friend just brought me some fish he caught) that I nabbed from the comments on that site:

Place piece of fish on foil.

Wash a big handful of fresh, washed greens and put them right on top of the fish. (don’t forget spices and butter, etc. on it all) 

Close up the foil, poke a few wee holes in the top and bake for around 15 minutes at 400 degrees (depends on thickness of fish, if frozen, etc.)

Another thing I plan to do is make a pot of cooked greens from them, perhaps with some salt pork or hamhock or something tasty. 

salmon fried rice

This isn't spectacular salmon fried rice, but it works.  I added in some cabbage with the onions and wish I'd put in more.

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 2/3 cup diced red onion
• 2/3 cup diced red bell pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1-inch piece of ginger, grated
• 3 eggs, well beaten
• 4 cups day old cooked white rice (from about 2 cups of raw rice)
• 1 cup frozen peas, thawed
• 2 cups cooked salmon in large chunks
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced, including the greens
• Cilantro (or parsley) for garnish

Stir together soy sauce and brown sugar, set aside.  Whisk 3 eggs in separate bowl, set aside.

With oil heated over medium-high heat, cook onion and bell pepper for about 5 minutes until browning.  Turn heat down to medium and add garlic and ginger and cook for another minute or so.

Add eggs and stir and cook until just barely done.  Add in the cooked rice and mix it up and let it cook 5 minutes or so.  Add in the peas, salmon, and green onions, and cook a bit longer (thaw peas, etc.).  

halibut chowder

This recipe for halibut chowder I took from here, making some modifications.  Very tasty!  I think my burner went out, so I was struggling with heating properly, but it still worked ok.  Since I'd never made a chowder before, I figured I should follow the directions.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 large onion, finely diced
• 2 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3-4 cups chicken stock
• 2 large carrots, shredded 
• 1 cup half and half
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1pound halibut, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 pinch red pepper flakes, or to taste

Directions

1. Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, and cook until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. 
2. Add the potatoes and garlic, and continue cooking until the potatoes have softened slightly, about 10 minutes.
3. Pour in the chicken stock and carrots. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes. 
4. Add the milk/cream, season to taste with salt and pepper and red pepper flakes, then stir in the halibut. Continue simmering uncovered until the halibut is flaky and no longer translucent in the center, about 10 minutes. Serve immediately.

thai fish cakes with cilantro-lime slaw

The flavor of these is SO ON POINT. Super yummy, and with the coleslaw, it filled me up very well.  From Home Chef.

Thai Fish Cakes with cilantro-lime slaw

IN YOUR BOX
1 Lime
3 Cilantro Sprigs (more would have been nice)
2 Garlic Cloves
2 Tilapia Fillets
8 oz. Slaw Mix (cabbage green and purple, carrots)
⅔ Cup Panko Breadcrumbs
1⅞ oz. Mayonnaise
1 tsp. Dark Chili Powder
2 tsp. Chopped Ginger
1 Tbsp. Fish Sauce
1 ½ oz. Sriracha

Prepare the Ingredients
Quarter lime and cut one quarter in half. Stem cilantro and finely chop. Mince garlic. Rinse tilapia and pat dry.

Roast the Fish
Season both sides of tilapia with ½ tsp.salt and ¼ tsp. pepper. Place tilapia on prepared baking sheet, drizzle with 1 tsp. olive oil, and place on middle rack of oven. Roast 12-15 minutes, or until fish reaches a minimum internal temperature of 145 degrees. Remove from oven, carefully transfer to a plate, and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes.

Prepare the Slaw
In a mixing bowl, combine slaw mix, juice of two lime quarters (add additional lime quarter to taste), 1 Tbsp. olive oil, half the cilantro (reserve remaining for fish cakes), ¼ tsp. salt, and a pinch of pepper. Refrigerate before serving. Mix slaw a few times throughout refrigeration to marinate evenly

Prepare the Fish Cakes
Once tilapia has cooled, transfer fish to a mixing bowl and use two forks to lightly pull fillets into shreds. Add panko breadcrumbs, mayonnaise, chili powder (to taste), ginger, remaining cilantro (reserve a pinch for garnish), fish sauce, garlic, 1 Tbsp. Sriracha (to taste), and a pinch of salt and pepper to bowl with fish. Using hands or a spoon, mix together until combined and able to be formed into cakes.

Cook the Fish Cakes
Form mixture into four evenly-sized fish cakes. Place a large non-stick pan over medium heat and add 2 tsp. olive oil. Add fish cakes to hot pan (in batches, if necessary, to avoid crowding pan). Cook 3-4 minutes per side, or until browned and warm throughout. Remove cakes from heat and set aside.

Plate the Dish
Add a serving of chilled slaw to plate. Place two fish cakes against slaw and drizzle with remaining Sriracha for a bit of heat, if desired. Garnish with remaining cilantro and lime wedge.

slowcooker fish in coconut milk

So apparently, poaching fish in a slowcooker is a good thing. 

I sauteed an onion in garlic-infused olive oil - I really wanted ginger but couldn't find it.  I added a can of coconut milk and heated it up, adding some thai basil and dried lemongrass and salt and pepper.

When it was all heated, put it in the slowcooker with the fish and cook on high for an hour. 

The fish was cooked perfectly!

smoked fish and potatoes

I have no idea what I'm doing here, but I grabbed some potatoes and smoked fish (most likely mackerel) at the grocery store, and doggone it sounds good, so here goes:

*Steam the potatoes until pretty done.

*Debone the fish.

*Saute onion and garlic in oil. When soft, add in the fish.

Eat the fish on the potatoes, topped with yogurt (which is all i have ... should have picked up some sour cream).

I'll eat it with stewed okra & tomatoes ... and now I'm very hungry!

Cafe Style Seafood Rice

Cafe Style Seafood Rice
Originally uploaded by gummychild

This dish is easy to make, and nothing super fancy, but it's great over rice or pasta...if you really want to make it Hong Kong cafe style, you can toss some cheese on top and broil the whole plate, but I opted to leave that out.

Ingredients:

- 1 Can Cream of Mushroom soup (plus milk and water to make the soup)- 1 fillet of fish (I used a big fillet of Mekong Basa, but any sole/white fish will work)- 4 sticks of imitation crab, frozen
- 8 fish balls (these are usually frozen, pounded rounds of fish meat, usually make with either threadfin bream fish, pollock, or other fish...not the balls of a certain animal, as Victor may have thought about "meatballs" and/or "fishballs" in his pho soup noodles, hee hee...)
- 1/2 a bunch of asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1 inch sections
- Salt & Pepper
- Some flour or starch

Directions:

1. Slice the fish fillet into bite size sections, and season with a little bit of salt (I used very little, as we'll be using a canned soup later anyways, and they have enough sodium!) and black pepper. Coat/dredge the fish pieces in either flour or starch.

2. Add a few teaspoons of oil to a saute pan, and when heated up, add the fish into the pan. Lower the heat to about medium, and watch carefully to be sure the fish is cooked through. Flip and turn the fish as each side cooks up.

3. Meanwhile...in a small saucepan, cook the cream of mushroom according to directions. I like to add in half a can of water and half a can of milk (and a little bit more milk) to make the "sauce" a little creamier. =) Do stir the soup once in a while to make sure it's not getting too hot!

4. Boil another saucepan of water, and toss the asparagus, frozen fish balls, and frozen crab sticks into the boiling water. Remove when cooked. Set the asparagus aside. Slice the fish balls in half and set aside. Slice each crab stick into fourths, and set aside also.

5. When the fish is cooked, pour the soup into the pan, and add the rest of the ingredients. When the entire mixture starts to bubble, it's ready! Serve over fresh rice, or over fresh cooked pasta noodles. ^_^