Fish Cutlets

This post rounds up my series on our New Years gathering where The Lovely Wife and I served a variety of finger food or Tapas.
Fish Cutlets are very popluar in Indian cooking. My mom used to make a mean fish cutlet as does my Mother in law. The Lovely Wife too has her own version of Fish Cutlets and she decided to make a batch to go with the rest of the food.
I've always liked fish cutlets. There's something nice about boneless fish mashed together with potatoes and spices and then fried. Its the kind of food that you can just keep popping in your mouth!
This is what The Lovely Wife Does.

Ingredients
4 potatoes
2 cans tuna (small cans)
1 large onion - chopped finely
1 red chilli - chopped finely
1 bunch coriander - chopped finely
1 egg
2 Tbps Fish Curry Powder
1 Tbsp meat curry powder
Salt
Pepper
Breadcrumbs
Method
Boil the potatoes and mash them together with the tuna. Combine with the onion, chilli and coriander. Add in the curry powders and mix well. Season with salt and pepper and then add in the beaten egg. Mix well to combine nicely.
Form into small patties and then roll in breadcrumbs. Fry till cooked.

Everyone really enjoyed the cutlets and its no surprise as these cutlets are really delicious. You cant just stop at one! They make a great dish for any meal and at any time of the day too.

Steamed Fish with Ginger

I'"m not a great fish fan, simply because I fear that the bones will get stuck in my gums or my throat. However, I do like fillets and even fish that don't have too many small bones.

One of my favourite fish dishes to order when we eat at Chinese Restaurants is Steamed Fish with Ginger. I always thought that it would be too difficult to make at home but once I did it, I realised it is really such a snap to do!


The key to a good steamed fish is to make sure the fish is fresh. The flesh is then still firm and slightly sweetish. The main seasonings for this dish is soy sauce and ginger with a little garlic.



Sesame Oil lends a little more flavour and gives off a wonderful fragrance as well. This is my recipe for Steamed Ginger fish:

Ingredients
1 pomfret or any other fish - clean well
1-2 inches ginger
2 cloves garlic
1 onion - sliced
1 Tbsps Sesame Oil
1-2 Tbsp Light Soy Sauce
Spring onions for garnishing
Method
Mince the ginger and garlic. Fry onions in sesame oil then add in the ginger paste. Fry lightly and then rub over both sides of fish, covering the top with more of the ginger mixture. Pour the soy sauce around the fish and then steam for about 15-20 mins. Spoon the sauce at the bottom of the dish over the fish again before serving.

Told you it was easy!

The fish is best eaten with rice or even on its own. I like this dish because you get the flavour of the fish itself as its not overpowered by curry or other sauces.



Aside from being easy, its the kind of dish that is always spectacular when served at the table whole. Whenever we order it in restaurants though, I always ask for Wan Yee (Common Carp/Grass Carp) as the meat is really chunky with very few small bones. I chose to make this dish with pomfret because it is relatively small and isnt too expensive. Pomfret may not be a particularly pretty fish but you can use any other fish (or pieces of fish) instead.

Whatever fish you decide to use, this is a delicious way to steam your fish and I will definitely be making it again...and again!

Misguided about exotic drinks and spices...

Just last week, I was looking through some food blogs when I realised I hadn't visited my friend Judy at No Fear Entertaining for a while. When I got there, I found her post on Tilapia with Cilantro and Lime. I was intrigued to say the least and decided I was going to do something similar.

For many years, I thought Cilantro was some exotic drink akin to Campari. Then, when I wisened up a little, I thought it was some exotic spice only available in the western world.

Imagine my surprise when I learnt that Cilantro was nothing other than Coriander Leaves! Silly misguided me...


Anyway, enough of my misguidance on exotic drinks and spices!

When the weekend came and it was time to do the groceries, I told The Lovely Wife that I wanted to get some fish. My initial plan was to use some mackerel but as we were shopping in one of the hypermarkets, I noticed there was a special for frozen Dory Fish fillets. No where as nice as Mackerel for sure but so, so, SO much cheaper!



I would never have thought of using Coriander Leaves with fish so this is truly inspired by Judy's post. I also decided on using lemon instead of lime for this. This is what I did.

Baked Dory Fish with Coriander Leaves and Lemon
Ingredients
500g Dory Fish fillets (about two large pieces)
1 large bunch Coriander, finely chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic - chopped
Salt
Black Pepper
1/2 a lemon

Method
Cut dory into large pieces. Combine cilantro, oil, garlic and salt and spread over the fish. Leave to marinate for at least 1/2 hour.
Preheat oven to 190C. Line a tray with aluminium foil and place marinated fish on top of the foil. Sprinkle top of fish with black pepper. Fold the foil over the fish and seal it like an parcel, making sure the fish is covered.
Bake for about 20 mins and then open the parcel carefully as the steam will be very hot. Transfer the fish together with its juices to a serving platter. Squeeze the lemon over the fish and garnish with lemon slices.

The fish was really very tasty and the two flavours complemented each other very nicely. Who would have thought that something this easy could be so tasty? I served it with rice and it was enjoyed by everyone. I was only sad that there wasn't any left over when my princess asked for seconds...

Ratatouille with a fishy twist

One of our dear friends, Priya, who has been vegetarian for a long time has recently taken to eating fish as well. Usually, I would make something vegetarian just for Priya while the rest of us would indulge in meaty goodness. However, this time, I decided to make things a little easier and make one hearty dish filled with loads of veges and throw in some Tuna. A Ratatouille with fish in it!

I also wasn't really too fussed about the main meal simply because this was the same night that I was serving the Chocolate Valentino and Ice Cream tested and made for the February DB Challenge that I co-hosted.



As it is, the Fishy Ratatoullie turned out really, really well! This is what i did.

Igredients
2 cloves garlic
1 medium onion
1 tsp Basil
1 tsp oregano
2 eggplants
2 carrots
2 zuchini
2 leek
2 green capsicum
350g Button Mushrooms
4 tomatoes
1 can stewed tomatoes
3 cans tuna chunks
Salt
Black Pepper

Method
Cut all the vegetables into large chunks.
Sautee Onion and garlic till soft. Add in basil and oregano and fry till fragrant. Stir in the egglplant and lightly fry before adding in the rest of the vegetables. Mix together and cook well, seasoning with some salt and pepper. Add in the can of tomatoes, and allow to simmer till everything is cooked. Add in the tuna, taking care not to break it up too much. Mix well, allow to simmer to meld all the flavours and season with more salt and pepper.




I served this with rice and it was a very tasty and hearty meal. The kids loved is as not only had they had watched the Ratatouille Movie but they also love Tom and Jerry (the cartoon). They joked that about how Jerry had cooked the ratatouille together with a fish that Tom had caught. Obviously my warped sense of humour has rubbed off on them!

Fusion Vol-au-Vents - Royal Foodie Joust

It's been a while since I took part in the Royal Foodie Joust with my last entry being in October 2008. I'm back though for the February Joust where the ingredients are rather simple with
Mushrooms
Cauliflower and
Noodles

My initial thought was to make a noodle dish or pasta dish. Then I thought this would be what most everyone would do so I left that idea on the back burner. We had some friends over for dinner on Chinese New Year Eve and while thinking of the menu, I hit upon the idea of Fusion Vol-au-Vents!



I used fish, cauliflower, oyster mushrooms, button mushrooms, spinach and cream for the filling and then topped it off with thin rice noodles (or mee suah) tosssed in a little olive oil.

This is what I did.

Ingredients:
1 pack ready rolled Puff Pastry
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp oregano
1 fillet of Dory (about 200g)
1 bunch of spinach
200g button Mushrooms
200g oyster mushrooms
1 small head of cauliflower - cut into small florettes
1/2 cup cream
50 g rice noodles
Soy Sauce
Salt
Black Pepper

Method
Make pastry shells by cutting out two circles of puff pastry and then cut a smaller circle into one of the circles to form a ring. Place the ring over the first circle and press firmly. Use some egg wash if you like. With the circles that are cut out, you then then roll them out again to maximise the use of the pastry sheets. Bake in 200C oven till nicely puffed up and then let them dry out a while in the cooling oven.
Meanwhile make the filling. Fry the chopped garlic until soft. Throw in the oregano and give it a good stir. Then add in the cubed fish and stir fry quickly. Remove the fish and set aside. Sautee the the sliced button mushrooms and oyster mushrooms until tender. Throw in the cauliflower and cook till softened. Add in the fish and season with salt and black pepper. Allow to simmer. Meanhwile, boil the spinach and chop finely. Add the spinach to the fish mixture together with the cream. Mix well and allow to simmer till almost dry but still moist.
Before serving, fill the pastry shells with the filling and reheat in oven for about 10 mins. While reheating, soften the noodles in hot water and toss with a little soy sauce. Add to the top of the vol-au-vents just prior to serving.



These were a hit at our dinner party and as I normally do with Vol-au-Vents, I made two sizes. I liked the lightly flavoured soy sauce noodles on top as it gave it an interesting texture.

Baked Mackerel Asian Style and more Cultural Exchange

I'm going Asian again for this post and this time it's Fish! I mentioned in my Cod Post that I don't have much experience in making fish but am slowly trying out new things. I also mentioned that my favourite way of cooking fish is to wrap it in foil together with a whole bunch of other ingredients and then bake it. I took the same route this time!

This recipe was inspired by a Steamed Fish we had at Kuala Selangor. This would be a good time for some Cultural Exchange too! Kuala is the Malay word for confleunce of two rivers or River Mouth. Hence, Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, literally translated means 'muddy confluence' as two rivers - Sungai Gombak and Sungai Klang. Sungai of course means River.

Kuala Selangor is the name of a small town locate at the river mouth of Sungai Selangor while Selangor is one of the larger states in Malaysia. Kuala Lumpur, itself a Federal Territory, is completely surrounded by Selangor. So much for the Geography lesson.

Kuala Selangor however, aside from its fantastic seafood, is World Famous for it's fireflies. The mangrove swamp along the river is home to one of the largest firefly colonies in the World! Apparently the only other place that you can see fireflies like this is in Brazil although there is also apparently a cave in New Zealand that has a lot of glowworms. (I'm not sure if glowworms are the same as fireflies...). Regardless, it is truly a wondrous sight.

Anyone of you wanna come to KL to visit me, I'll take you to see the fireflies and then for dinner at Kuala Selangor!

Back to the fish now. Mackerel is what is known as Tenggiri in this neck of thw woods. The fish we had at Kuala Selangor was a steamed Sea Bass or Barramundi - what we call Siakap.



This is what I did with the fish, trying to replicate what we ate.

1 inch ginger - sliced
2 cloves garlic - chopped
3 stalks lemon grass (serai) - bruised
3 tomatoes - quartered
5 bay leaves
4 Mackerel Steaks
a little soy sauce
Chilli Flakes
Sesame Oil

Place fish in Aluminium foil and rub a little soy sauce and sesame oil on it. Add the rest of the ingredients over and around the fish and then fold the foil into an envelope shape. Bake in preheated 190C overn for about 20 minutes till fish is cooked.

So simple and yet so delicious. The Lovely Wife reckoned it was almost as good as what we had eaten and she suggested that next time I should add some Tofu in as well - just like in the restaurant! I myself was very pleased with this effort and the kids loved it too - so a definite winner here!

Baked Cod Oriental Style

One weekend, we were too busy lazing and around with the kids that by the time we got ourselves into gear and went to the market, most of the fish had been sold. There was however some Cod available. Now Cod is rather expensive in this part of the world but sometimes its nice to indulge.


The Lovely Wife absolutely adores Cod as do the kids. In fact, when the kids were just starting to eat solid food, we used to feed them a little mashed Cod as it is believed that Cod is good Brain food. And all along I thought it was my Genes…

So with the purchase of Cod, I now had to decide what make. I don’t have a lot of experience in cooking fish but I am slowly learning to enjoy cooking it. My favourite method has to be experimenting with throwing a whole lot of seasoning together with the fish, wrapping it in foil and then baking it. Not only is this relatively easy, it is also very healthy. The best part though is that you get to enjoy the flavour of the fish itself without having it doused in too much spice or seasoning.

The Lovely Wife was just happy to have fresh fish rather than the Frozen Dory Fish that I usually like to make. The fact that it was Cod was an added bonus of course!

In trying to figure out what to do, I remembered, that in recent times, Chinese Restaurants have started to serve Steamed Cod doused in soy sauce and ginger. I decided to follow a similar route but use just a tinge of soy sauce. I also thought I would add some mushrooms to the fish.

This is what I did.

450g Cod Fish, cut into steaks
4 cloves garlic – chopped
½ inch ginger – chopped
200 g swiss brown mushrooms - quartered
2 tbsp Sesame Oil
1 tbsp light soy sauce (or more to taste)
Black Pepper

Method
Heat Sesame Oil and fry garlic and mushrooms. Set aside. Mix together ginger and soy sauce. Rub the fish with the mix. Arrange the fish steaks in a pan lined with foil. Make sure there is enough foil to cover the fish and form a package.
Mix the the remaining ginger and soy sauce with the garlic mushrooms and spread over fish. Sprinkle with Black Pepper. Fold the foil over to make a package, folding over the edges to seal. Bake in a preheated 200C oven for about 20 mins.


Part of the fun in baking in foil is serving it as it is on a platter and then opening up the package to reveal the goodness inside!



The cod turned out very nice baked like this. The flesh was firm and juicy with just enough sauce created by the fish oils and juices from the mushrooms. Very tasty indeed! The kids couldn't get enough of the Cod while the Lovely Wife gave it full marks. Looks like I'm getting the hang of cooking fish...!

Neccesity is the mother of Invention!

What do you do when the following hits you all at once:
- you haven't had time to replenish the groceries
- you've spent the better half of the morning playing with the kids
- everyone is hungry, including you!!
- you're contemplating getting some takeout (but thinking twice coz the wallet is empty too!)
- Your kids look at you with their darling puppy dog eyes and ask you oh so sweetly: "Daddy, can you make some of your creamy pasta?"

What to do? Well, like Thomas the Tank Engine, I thought I could.


I knew I had a little leftover cream in the fridge. I searched the cupboards and found some Fettucine. There were also some cans of tuna. What else did I have? I checked the fridge and there was some celery as well as broccoli. Not the ideal combination but at least there were some vegetables. No mushrooms either. I hate it when I don't have mushrooms in my creamy pasta.

Interesting combination and nothing I had ever made using these ingredients. But the kids wanted a creamy pasta and I had to pull something out of the hat.

Okay, so maybe a Pasta Alfredo with Tuna and Broccoli. Sounds interesting and not too difficult. So there it was, Necessity had made me invent this dish. But like all inventions, things had to go wrong. In this case, things didn't really go wrong. There was no plural - just one big, bad one! My cream had gone all sour on me! Rancid too. Bad, just all bad cream. Fortunately though, I checked it before pouring it in so not such a biggie really.

This is what I did:

2 cloves garlic - chopped
1 tsp oregano
2 tsp basil
1 stalk celery - chopped finely
2 cans of tuna (total 360g)
1 broccoli - cut into small florets
250 ml milk
1/2 Tbsp butter
1 tbsp flour
2 slices cheddar cheese
salt
black pepper
Olive Oil


Sautee the garlic in a little olive oil. Add in black pepper, oregano and basil and cook till fragrant. Add in the celery, mixing well. Add in the tuna and break up while browning slightly. Add in some water and allow to simmer.
Meanwhile, melt butter in a saucepan and add in the flour. Stir quickly to blend the flour and cook till golden. Add in the milk and mix well to incorporate. Cook until mixture thickens. Season with salt and pepper. Add sauce to tuna mixture and add in broccoli. Continue to simmer, mixing well. Break cheese slices into small pieces and add to mix, mixing well.


The kids loved the pasta and to add a little kick, I served it with some Chilli Flakes. Pretty good for something made out of the blue. I think this is another keeper!


I've also submitted this as an entry to Presto Pasta Nights hosted by my lovely friend Ruth over at Onceuponafeast.blogpsot.com. I think PPN just celebrated its 100th week!
Actually, Ruth has just advised me that it is 52 weeks of Presto Pasta Nights and NOT 100!! Sorry about the error on my part...

Fish, Vegetable and Rice Casserole

I've often wondered what exactly constitutes a casserole. I was led to believe that a casserole was a meal that was fully cooked in an oven - that is with no precooking allowed. I've learnt over the years though, that a casserole is actually the name for the 'container' used to cook AND serve it in. It is also a most versatile dish - both as in dish the meal and dish the container (Ha Ha!)

You can make a casserole by pre-cooking some ingredients and then finish it off by baking or mix up all the raw ingredients and then cook it in the oven. So, really, anything and everything that is cooked and served in a casserole dish, qualifies as a casserole! I bet I've only served to confuse you more....

But hey, to paraphrase Shakespeare, "That which we call a casserole, by any other name would taste just as delicious!"


My first exposure to casserole was this fantastic Macaroni Tuna Pasta that my mother used to make. We all thought it was a pasta dish but Mom called it a Tuna Casserole. And that was when I first learnt of such a word.

I've learnt to make Mom's Tuna Casserole (I like to think I've improved on it!) and I'll probably post about it another time. This post though is about a Fish and Rice Casserole that I tried out for the very first time recently.

Often, I find that I need to come up with a new recipe simply because the kids are hungry and the fridge is not quite as well stocked as we thought it was. That was basically what happened recently!

I had some frozen Dory Fish and some carrots and broccoli. There was also some tomato and half a block of cheddar. So, I decided to throw them all together and make a Fish and Rice Casserole.

As usual, no real recipe but more of a guideline. That's how I like it as I think the best food is when you experiment and play around with the ingredients.

2 cups rice - washed
3 cups water - for cooking the rice
1 large onion - sliced
4 cloves garlic = chopped
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp sage
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
800g Dory Fish - cubed
1 small head of broccoli - cut into small florets
2 medium carrots - diced
2 large tomatoes - thinly sliced
200g Cheddar cheese - grated
Black Pepper
Salt

Method
Cook the rice in a rice cooker or in a pot over the stove.
Sautee the onions and garlic together with the Oregano, sage, rosemary leaves and Black Pepper. Add in the cubed Dory and season with some salt. Mix well and allow to simmer until Dory is cooked. Add in the carrots and simmer till carrots are soft then add in the broccoli. Mix well. Season with more salt and pepper as required.
Add the rice into the pan and mix well. Spoon into a rectangular casserole dish and press down, smoothening the top. Cover rice with half of the cheese and then cover with the sliced tomatoes. Sprinkle remaining cheese over tomatoes and bake in a preheated 190C oven for about 20 mins or till cheese is melted and tomatoes are slightly wrinkled.


The kids really enjoyed this dish (the food and not the container -Ha Ha!) and the Lovely Wife kept asking what I had done to make it so tasty. I think the secret is simply that the flavours from the vegetables and fish all meld together so nicely and it soaks into the rice as well.

Baked Dory Fish with Oyster Mushroom

I felt like some fish the other day and to me there is no fish that is easier to make than Dory. I like Dory fillets not only becuase they are easy to cook but also because its the kind of fish I like - with no bones at all!


I decided to keep things very simple this time and just sprinkle a little salt and pepper as well as a little sage and oregano as seasoning. I then baked the fish, wrapped in aluminium foil to seal in the flavours.

I also wanted to try pairing the Dory with Oyster mushrooms so what I did was to stir fry some Oyster Mushrooms with garlic and then placed it on a plate to act as a 'bed' for the fish. This way, I wanted the mushrooms to be eaten together with the fish rather than as a side dish.

Finally, I used the juices that ran out from the fish to make a very light sauce. I just added in about a teaspoon of lemon juice and served this separately. The kids liked the lemon sauce but I dont think it was really needed as the fish paired very nicely with the mushrooms and was delicious on its own.

Baked Dory Fish with Mushroom Lemon Sauce

Yay the weekend is here again! I love the weekend coz I dont
have to go to work, I get time to spend with the wife and kids and last but not least, I get to experiment in the kitchen!
I must admit that before I started this blog, I used to make the tried and tested - but now I try and test different things out. I also realised that I dont have any curries or other local dishes on my blog and I was going to correct that today by making a curry.
My son however, had other ideas. He wanted some of my baked fish - so the curries will have to wait!
I usually make Dory with a white sauce or a lemon sauce. This time I thought I'd make it with a creamy mushroom sauce flavoured with a hint of lemon. It turned out rather well - meaning that it got the wife's and kids seal of approval - and that is all that matters to me!
I decided to 'jazz' it up a little by serving the fish on a bed of spinach. My wife liked that 'artistic' touch and even wondered why the spinach tasted so good. It was simply blanched in hot water and sprinkled with sauce. The reason it tasted so good was because the juices from the fish and some of the sauce dribbled on to it.
This is how I made my recipe for Baked Dory Fish with Mushroom Lemon Sauce. I didnt measure anything (as per usual) so the measurements are just an approximation.

Ingredients
4 large Dory Fillets (about 1.5 kg)
3 cloves garlic - chopped finely
250g Button Mushrooms - quartered
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp rosemary
2 tbsp flour
1 tbsp butter
200 ml Milk
4 bay leaves
Juice from half a lemon
Salt
Black Pepper
Olive Oil

Method

Wash fish and cut into large pieces. Place on baking tray lined with aluminium foil. Make sure there is sufficient foil to cover the fish too. Fry garlic together with oregano and rosemary. Add in black pepper. Stri fry mushrooms till slightly soft. Remove from pan. Add in a little more oil and butter. Stir in the flour and cook until golden. Add in milk and cooked mushrooms. Add in lemon juice and mix well. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer until mixture thickens. Meanwhile, season Dory fillets with salt and pepper. Rub some of the lemon juice on to the fillets. Place bay leaves around fish and then pour the mushroom mixture over fish. Spread the sauce evenly. Fold over the aluminium foil to cover sides and top. Bake in 200C oven for about 30 minutes.

Oil and juices from the fish while cooking will dilute the sauce, so ensure that your sauce is thick enough before cooking the fish in the oven.