Steam Fish secrets - exotic Chinese and Southeast Asian styles

Like most novice cooks when I started out, I learned to master a sure way of steaming fish to perfection through many trials and errors after watching masterchefs demonstrate on television and live.

* Use only the freshest fish you can possibly buy. 
For whole fish, check that the eyes are bright and not dull, the flesh is succulent and bouncy, the scales are not broken.

* How to get rid of fishy smell and taste?

General Information on marinade, sauces and herbs to neutralise the taste of fish : 

- Essential : Ginger and wine (white or shaoxing).

-  Optional : Kaffir lime, lime, or lemon juice.

-  Additional : Salty and sweet pickled mustard green, preserved plum and sliced fresh chilli

Use any of these complimentary combinations or all.

- The two step steaming process (elaborated in the recipe provided below).

- Final sauce : boiled soy sauce, julienne ginger and sesame oil

- Garnishing : spring onion slices, fried shallot, fried garlic, coriander leaves, sliced tomatoes

Basic Recipe

1. Clean whole fish or cutlets and drain well.

2. Marinate with wine, salt and ginger slices.

3. Add any of the optional and additional items if desired.

4. Steam over boiling water or cook in microwave with steam feature covered.

5. Discard excess fishy water.

6. Bring final sauce to the boil. Pour over cooked fish. Sprinkle garnishes.

The dish shown above is steamed with additions of preserved plum, fennel, white long cabbage and pickled mustard for more sophisticated yet light flavours.

Fennel and capers discussed in : http://homecooksecrets.blogspot.com.au/2009/12/fish-with-vegetables-fennel-capers.html 

Baked Half Shell Green Mussels

This is a French provencal recipe which I have modified to suit my family's international and fussy palette. 

Ingredients

60 g of green lipped mussels - some are available cooked frozen with one shell.  If not, get raw chilled mussels, steam lightly with wine and shuck them, discarding one side of the shell with the meat on.

White wine (dry) 300 g

Sauce : chopped shallots, chopped garlic, chopped spring onions, 1/2 cup diced cooked tomatoes, 1/2 lemon juice and zest, chilli powder (to taste), salt, pepper, white wine, olive oil


Herbs Topping : Chopped fresh thyme, tarragon, parsley, dill, sea salt, bread crumbs, butter 


Method

• Fry garlic in olive oil till translucent. Bring the rest of the sauce ingredients to the boil. Add mussel juices (if any left from cooking) or chicken stock. Mix well.  Cool slightly. 

• Preheat oven to 200 C. 

• Arrange mussels on an oven proof tray. Pour sauce over each mussel. 

• Spoon herbs crumb topping. 

• Place mussels carefully into the oven and bake for 5 minutes. 

Spicy thick curry in a coconut - seafood or roast duck (Indo-chinese style)

Red curry paste is very versatile for cooking seafood and meat dishes.

Steaming curry in a coconut after a brief stir fry in the sauces not only enhances the visual exotic appeal but keeps the curry warm and more fragrant.

Suitable for cooking seafood (thick soupy hor mok or choo chee curry) or roast duck curry.

This method is especially popular in Thailand and Vietnam.

Refreshing Seafood Gumbo Revisited

Okra is the essential ingredient for the world famous gumbo soup. It helps to thicken the soup and goes well with the spicy seafood stock. We are fortunate that okra is available fresh from the markets and need not resort to frozen types which gives less kick and easily disintegrate when cooked.

This recipe is a tad lighter and tastier than the original New Orleans version which my spouse used to rave about enroute to official business in USA. Skip the roux as the medley of vegetables will sufficiently thicken the soup and leaves a clean taste.

Ready - here we go.

Firstly, fry a couple of chopped brown onions and garlic cloves with 2 TBS of vegetable oil.

Sear fish slices (use a firm fish such as dory or perch) and prawn till 3/4 cooked. Carefully remove from the pan with the onions and garlic.

Put chicken stock to the boil. Add canned tomato concentrate.

Add a few sprigs of thyme, oregano, chopped parsley (preferably freshly plucked from the herb garden) and 2 bay leaves.

Add sliced vegetables : celery, carrot, red chilli, okra, tomatoes and button mushroom (optional). Simmer for 20 - 30 minutes.

Raise the temperature to medium and add in seared seafood. Bring to a light boil and turn off the heat.

White Wine Vongole Pasta

This is

Soak 400 g vongole in salty water (chilled and washed vongole are more convenient and ready to use after a quick rinse of the shells)

300- 500 g
Butter (150 g)
Garlic finely chopped (2 cloves)
Onion (1)
Sea Salt and Black Pepper
White wine (1 cup)
Freshly diced tomatoes (2)
Freshly chopped pasley (1 sprig)
Light cooking cream (1 cup)


Bring water with salt & olive oil to the boil. Cook pasta till al dante for 5 mins or less. Let it rest in lukewarm water.

Fry garlic and onion in butter in a heavy large pan. Turn the heat up before the garlic and onion is soft and translucent but before turning golden brown.

Put in the vongole quickly and cover with a very tight lid. Toss and shake the vongle 4 times around to ensure even cooking. After 2 minutes, open the lid. If the shellfish is fresh, they should open nicely (more than 1/2 opened) but not tough.

Pour wine and cooking cream over and bring to a quick boil.
Put in the drained pasta and mix well.
Add salt, pepper, tomato and parsley before serving.

Shanghai Infused Fish

I have searched cookbooks and the internet but could not find a good recipe to make this "smoked" spicy fish. I used to have a rough guide but it has been lost through migration of files and house moving. Thought this must be important enough to put on record before I forget or lose it again.

Most diners mistaken the name of dish "xunyu" to be smoked fish but the fish is cook in two steps. The sauces and spices are infused, unlike smoked salmon. The appearance of the fish is dark and dry but it is absolutely flavoursome.




Spice Sauces

Peppercorn (1/2 tsp), star anise (2), fennel seeds (2 tsp), cinnamon bark (1), five spiced powder (1/2 tsp).
Soy sauce (4 TBS), dark Zejiang vinegar (1 tsp), salt (to taste), sugar (1 TBS) and 1/2 cup water.

Ingredients

Fish slices. Whole fish may be used but I prefer boneless firm fillet such as ling, mackeral or snapper.

Method

1. Bring sauces and spices to the boil. Turn down the heat and simmer for another 10 - 15 minutes. Put through the sieve and set aside. Either keep warm or reheat for later use.

2. Deep fry fish in hot cooking oil. To reduce splatter, rub some salt on the fish and dust a little flour before frying.

3. Drain the oil from cooked fish.

4. Dip each piece of fish into lukewarm sauces prepared earlier to ensure it is evenly and intensely infused. The fish should not be dripping and soggy.

5. Xunyu can be kept at a cool place for days in winter or in the fridge for a couple of weeks. You could take a slice or two to supplement your rice meal anytime. Thus, families find it worthwhile to make this dish in dozens of batches for convenience.

XO Seafood Fried Rice

We all had third helpings. That's how yummy this spicy seafood fried rice was.

Ingredients :

- Seafood : yabbies (or prawn) deshelled.
I added leftover oyster omelette to add flavour to the stir fry.

For recipe, please refer to : http://homecooksecrets.blogspot.com/2009/10/oyster-egg-pancake-chaozhou-style.html

- Vegetables : asparagus spears, carrot, mushroom.

- Egg, diced onion (optional)

- Seasoning : soy sauce, salt, pepper, oyster sauce and XO sauce (preferably Lee Kum Kee as it is more concentrated and packed with dried scallops and shrimp with no fishy after taste). Sambal chilli and roast chilli paste can be added for a more spicy version.

- Garnishing : spring onion, cucumber, garlic and onion crisps.

To Cook :

1. Heat oil and fry garlic and shallots. Remove and drain. Do not burn.

2. Fry prawn and asparagus. Add XO sauce and mix well.

3. Mix warmed rice with salt.

4. Fry omelette separately and set aside. Add to the rice when ready.

5. Dish up and serve with garnishing.

- copyright reserved; c.g.

Squid Ink Pasta with Spicy Garlic Scallop

Squid ink pasta is a delicacy highly appreciated by gourmet diners. Though some may be put off by the look of the dark pasta, it can be garnished with other colours while the taste is unique yet pleasant.

Boil water with salt and olive oil and cook pasta till el dante.

Saute chopped onions and garlic in a heavy saucepan with pure olive oil or rice bran oil. Add diced scallops and fry till fragrant. Add a dash each of sea salt and pepper, followed by wine wine.

Throw in some slice green shallot and red chilli.

Toss pasta briefly in the pan. Remove from heat and it is ready to be served. Garnish with chopped parsley.

- Copyright Reserved

Squid Curry Stir Fry

The curry base for this seafood dish is similar to Thai southern curry.

Marinate squid slices with 2 tsp of meat or seafood curry powder and pepper.

Stir fry red curry paste in oil till fragrant. Next fry onions, followed by squid. When almost ready, put a few dashes of dark soy sauce. Add sliced chilli if a spicier taste is desired.

Tip : do not cover the pot or overcook the squid.

- Copyright Reserved

Cooking Abalone - festive delicacy

According to Chinese beliefs, abalone symbolises assured abundance. Though canned and vacuum packed abalone are easily available from speciality grocery stores, uncooked chilled abalone tastes superb. If you have a few hours to spare, you are better off cooking abalone dish from scratch than to use precooked processed abalone which contain preservatives and not as yummy.

Preparation : wash away dirt on fresh abalone under running tap. Do not soak as it will dilute the taste of the shellfish.

In an airtight heavy steel pot, cook abalone whole in cool or lukewarm superior chicken stock, preferably homecooked or restaurant grade commercial packed ones. Ensure that the stock adequately covers the the abalone. Never cook abalone in boiling water as it will shrink and toughen the texture. Add dried scallops which have been washed and soaked for at least 2 hours (do not discard the water but add to the rest of the ingredients).

Add a stalk of shallot (white part only), garlic clove (with skin intact) and 2 slices of ginger.

Maintain an even temperature of soft boiling for the entire 3 hour cooking process. Alternatively, double boiling would take more 4 to 6 hours.

When ready, discard the spring onion, garlic and ginger. The soup can be presented as another course, separate from the main abalone dish.

To prepare the gravy, dissolve tapioca or corn starch in solution of water, oyster sauce, pepper and cooking wine (optional).

You may line the base of the serving plate with cut iceberg lettuce. Soft, slightly chewy, and extraordinary flavours!

- Copyright Reserved

Chinese New Year raw fish salad - yusheng

How to avoid paying more than $20 per person to savour the Chinese New Year raw fish salad (yusheng) speciality? DIY is the way to go and you'll be surprised how easy it is to prepare this festive dish and impress your family and friends. Best of all, you may ajdust the ingredients according to personal tastes and preferences.

After years of sampling different restaurant yusheng in Southeast Asia and Australia, I've come up with this recipe that has received raved reviews. Tried and tested - much better than what restaurants serve, if I may dare say. The serving portion is for 6 persons.

Finely junlienned vegetables :

Carrot, white radish, green mango, yam bean, cucumber, spring onion.
Fresh ginger - peeled and sliced thinly
Japanese green seaweed strands (soaked and drained)

Fresh Fruits :

Dice 1/2 pomelo or 1 large grapefruit into segments
Mango slices

Dried preserved fruit :

kamquat, orange peel, dried or pickled mango, candied ginger, pickled ginger, candied melon, licorice flavoured or assorted plums -- slice these dried ingredients thinly.

Dressing :

Put each of the condiments and sauces in small serving dishes

Wet : sesame oil, garlic oil, plum sauce, lime juice (2 small green lime)

Dry : lightly toasted sesame seed, white pepper, brown sugar, salt, tiny crispy crackers, roast ground peanut powder, kaffir lime leaf (cut into razor thin slices). You may like to put the dry ingredients into red packets (hongbao / ang pow) to enhance the festive mood.

Raw fish :

Thinly slice sashimi grade boneless fish. Any of these could be used : salmon, tuna, trout, yellow tail, or wolf herring.

Arrange fish slices in a fan shape or at the centre of a large platter.

Processed jellyfish - washed and seasoned or you could purchase ready-to- eat packs from the Asian grocery store. (optional)

Tuck In!

When ready to serve, mix all the ingredients and dressing.
Toss with chopsticks and exclaim "lo hei" -- symbol of prosperity and progress.

- Copyright reserved

Fish with vegetables - fennel, capers, melon, fruits

Fish does not always have to be deep fried and eaten with chips, plainly poached or simmered in soup.

Fennel

Fish slices can be stir fried or steamed with fresh fennel, oil (light olive or sesame). Not only does fennel neutralise any fishy smell or taste, its exotic aroma is appealing but not over the top. Half a fennel is enough to cook one tail fillet of fish.

Dill (shoots), fennel seeds or powdered fennel could be used as a marinade for fish before frying, adding sophistication to an otherwise simple dish.

Fresh fennel makes are refreshing salad with citrus fruits and herbs. http://ausletters.blogspot.com/2009/11/seasonal-vegetables-from-down-under.html

Capers

Fish tastes good with tangy tinge. Throw in a handful of capers to steam fish or garnish over cream sauce for fried fish.

Preserved plum in brine

Also known as wet sour plum (as opposed to dried version which is eaten with wine or as a snack to soothe the throat). Crush and remove the stone. Spread over fish and steam with ginger slices and a dash of cooking white wine or Shaoxing wine. Season with warm soy sauce, ginger, sesame oil and garlic oil. Thisis a typical Chaozhou dish which hailed from southern China.
Remember : ensure that only very fresh fish is used for steaming because this method of cooking reveals all the goodness but also exposes the shortcomings of fish that is not up to scratch.

Lime and Chilli sauce

Mix fish sauce with brown sugar till well combined. (About 2 TBS of fish sauce to 1 TBS of sugar). Squeeze half a Thai green lime juice and mix with the sauce. Add 1/4 tsp of crushed chilli and mix well. Use as marinade to steam fish or dressing for fish salad with mango slices.

Melon and Tofu

The bones and head of larger fishes need not be discarded as they serve as a base for delicious vegetable stews. The fish meat close to the bone is especially tasty too. If the fish store has just deboned fishes into fillet, they are more than happy to sell you the bones for a song.

Grill on medium low the fish bone and hairy melon wedges (in separate trays lined with baking paper) in the oven lightly sprayed oil. Alternatively, sear in on high heat in a heavy and deep skillet or pan. Fry two cloves of cleaned garlic with skin intact till golden brown. Stir fry carrot slices or cubes till slightly cooked but still firm. Pour fish stock into the pan and bring to the boil. Meanwhile, season with pepper, a dash of oyster sauce and soy sauce or fish sauce. Add a knob of bashed ginger.

Add the grilled fish and melon. Cover and bring to a brief boil. Add deep fried tofu puff (from chilled section of Asian supermarket). Cover and simmer for another 10 minutes.



Do be very careful when eating fish bone stews as there could be smaller and chipped bones.

More on cooking seafood : http://homecooksecrets.blogspot.com/2009/04/seafood-secret-of-balancing-and.html

- Copyright Reserved

Yam bean / bangkwang / turnip fry and stew with cuttlefish

The main ingredient of this festive dish is yam bean, also known as turnip in Southeast Asia or bangkwang in the local Malay lingo. The other main ingredient is dried cuttle fish that is sliced thinly.

Peranakans in northern Malaysia (Penang nonya) name this dish : "yu heu char" which means "fry with cuttlefish" though it is simmered like a stew after the initial frying.

My late aunt's special recipe has sliced shitake mushroom, prawns and carrots to add colour and sophistication to this home cooked dish for special occasions.

The difference between a successful and mediocre dish in the frying. First the garlic crisp, salty beans, mushroom and cuttlefish. Then the vegetable is added and stir fried to ensure it absorbs all the savoury flavours of the other ingredients. No sugar is needed as yam bean is a root vegetable that contains lots natural starch and sugar.

The flavoursome stew can be eaten with rice or use as filling for lettuce wraps (iceberg, cos or Chinese lettuce, whatever is available).

The more commonly known lettuce wraps "sang choy bao" :

http://homecooksecrets.blogspot.com/2009/09/chef-demonstration-of-sang-choy-bao.html

Seafoods for tasty soups, congee and porridge

There is a wealth of information and expert knowledge on cooking soups and stews in oriental cuisines, especially Chinese cooking. It is believed that liquid food enables easy digestion even for the physically weak, sick and convalescing.

Fresh Seafood

Rock oysters, scallop (fresh with roe or thawed from frozen), fish, abalone and prawns can be made into delicious dish in a short time. Do not overcook the seafood.




Dried seafood

If you prefer a meat or vegetable, dried seafood would greatly enhance the flavour of soups such as wanton noodles, porridge and congee.

The most common dried seafood for flavouring are dried oyster and dried scallop. Sometimes dried shell fish slices are used as they are cheaper options.

Dried scallops must be washed and soaked for a few hours before adding into the porride or congee. Dried abalone are expensive and require a longer time to prepare as they need to be soaked for hours and slow cooked for several more hours and therefore used in specialty soups rather than for daily cooking.

The difference between congee and porridge

From Fujian (Hokkian) and Caozhou (Chewchou or Teochew) are rice porridge. Cook rice with three to five times the amount of water in high heat, half covering the lid. Bring to the boil, uncover and continue boiling for another five minutes. Add ingredients and flavouring. Turn off the heat when all the raw ingredients are well cooked. Ready to serve.

Another way of cooking porridge is to boil the soup and add seasoned meat. If using ribs as the soup base, it must be cooked for at least 2 hours.

Guangdong (Cantonese) style congee requires boiling the rice soup for at least two hours. Lower the heat to medium level once the congee starts boiling. Add ingredients and cook till al dante. A friend's relative who owns a restaurant revealed that adding soy milk at this stage will produce a smooth texture. Then lower the heat further and simmer. Keep the lid covered all the time.

For a writeup on crispy oyster pancake, please refer to :

http://homecooksecrets.blogspot.com/2009/10/oyster-egg-pancake-chaozhou-style.html

Oyster Egg Pancake Chaozhou style - crispy or luak

Or Luak (pronounced : oh luark) is what many overseas Chinese whose ancestors originate in the southern coastal cities pine for. You may be able to get pretty good char kway teow and Hokkien noodles in restaurants all over the world but oyster pancake / omelette that is cooked to perfection are usually disappointing if they do offer this dish on the menu.

The most important criteria of a great tasting or luak pancake must be crispy on the outside. The omelette should be slightly fluffy and chock full of fresh succulent oysters. Never use canned, bottled or dried oysters!

SECRETS

1. Crispy Batter : a mixture of flours with water and coat the oysters evenly.

2. Egg : beat 4 to 6 free range eggs and season with a little salt.

3. Seasoning : pepper, fish sauce, oyster sauce, shaoxing wine.

4. Heat control : Alternate between high, moderate heat when frying the oyster, batter and egg mixture. Flip over and turn on to high heat to scorch the other side of the omelette.

Garnish with cut spring onion and coriander leaves.
Dip into pounded chilli paste made from ground fresh chilli and garlic and mix with vinegar and sugar.

- Copyright Reserved

Korean Seafood Pancake - Haemul Pajeon - crispy outside, tender inside

Many of us who love Korean cuisine would probably name seafood shallot pancake as one of the favourites.

If you like have a quick fix at your home kitchen to satisfy your sudden craving for seafood pancake during the cold months, here are some tips :

Korean cooks would add some baking powder, rice flour, mung bean flour to all purpose or self raising flour, egg and cold water to make the batter.

Add beaten egg. Season with salt and pepper.

Ensure that the flour is well combined, but not too fluid.  Neither should it be dry and hard as a dough.

Pour a thin layer of mixture on a  non-stick or well greased frying pan.  Cast iron hot plate conducts heat very well and makes the pancake crispy. However, using Korean magic stone frying pan requires less oil and is a healthier option.

Add seafood. Then pour the rest of the batter.

You'll need medium high heat to sizzle the egg pancake till it's crispy on the outside but remains soft and juicy within. Flip over and cook briefly for2 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the pancake rest for another 2 minutes.

To prepare dipping sauce : soy sauce, vinegar, spring onion, sliced green and red chillies.

It's easy to cook, no fuss, no mess.

Festive Dish : Crab Fuyong Egg Omelette (furong xie)

This colorful omelette dish can be served by itself as a centrepiece, or part of a cold dish with assorted dishes of roast meat, spring roll, prawn salad and jellyfish. A favourite for all ages and a must for the lunar new year feasting. It's called by various names, the most commonly used in Southeast Asia being "fuyong hai" meaning hibiscus flower crab omelette, a symbol of peace.

Use freshly peeled steamed crab meat or good quality vacuum packed or frozen crab meat (pincer preferable).

Add to beaten eggs (about 3 - 4 eggs depending on the portion of vegetables and serving.)

Julienne carrots, cooked or canned bamboo shoots, chives, soaked and sliced shitake mushroom, shrimp, glass noodle.

Seasoning : soy sauce, oyster sauce, pepper, shaoxing wine, fish sauce.

* Adding soaked and trimmed glass noodle (bean vermicelli) would give this dish a more sophisticated texture and presentation. You don't need to use sharksfin for cooking. Glass noodle or Japanese vegetarian yam sharksfin are good substitutes for preparing traditional delicacies without harming sea creatures and the environment.

Fry the vegetables briefly in oil. It should remain crunchy so take it easy.

The secret to cooking egg fuyong is not to overcook the egg. A quick swirl and stir and the dish is ready to be served.

Garnish with coriander leaves, spring onions and bean sprouts (optional).
A delicious dipping sauce to go with the dish would be lime and garlic chilli sauce.

- Copyright Reserved for all recipes and images in this blog

Easy Penang Laksa

For those living abroad or have limited time, this is a simple recipe which yields an incredibly delicious end product.

The secrets are using chunky canned tuna instead of boned fish and Malaysian nonya chilli sauce which contains torch ginger and spices.

Spanish Paella - seafood rice

Paella is an exotic Spanish rice dish.

The secret ingredients are clear good quality chicken stock and / or fish stock and saffron water to cook the rice; sizzled chorizo; plump tomatoes; fresh seafood and chicken thigh fillet that has been cleaned, marinated and sliced.

The dish will not turn out well if one uses long grain rice which takes longer to cook. Use arborio rice which is also used in cooking risotto.

It is important to use a heavy pan that does not stick easily. My preference is for scanpan for healthy cooking. The air tight glass lid would help to seal the flavours within the pan and allows easy checking during the cooking process.

Fry onion, garlic, chorizo and seafood that takes longer to cook first and set aside. Then fry the rice, add warmed stock and give it a slow and frequent stir for 2 minutes. If rice is still uncooked, cover for a minute before adding seafood. Return the cover and cook for another 5 minutes or till cooked, infusing the flavoursome juices from all the tasty ingredients. Tomatoes and peas are optional but paprika are essential for this Spanish signature dish.

While ensuring that sufficient heat is pumped in to cook the rice al dante, be careful not to burn the bottom. If slow cooked for a longer time, a base layer that is slightly brown and crispy adds

aroma to the seafood rice.

- Copyright Reserved