Miso Fish Fillet with Mixed Mushrooms

This is absolutely wonderful. This recipe was originally created by Roy Yamaguchi. I tried it using salmon for dinner for my son, Josh and his friends and it was great!
Miso, Mirin and Sake can all be found in any Asian grocery store.  You will find Miso in the refrigerated section.

Ingredients:
4 6oz fillets (salmon or cod)
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 cup miso
1/2 cup Sake
1/2 cup mirin (Japanese sweet rice wine)
2 cloves garlic (minced)
2 tblsp unsalted butter
1 lb mixed mushrooms (cleaned and sliced)
2 tsp lemon juice
3 tsp soy sauce
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

In a sauce pan on medium heat, add sugar, miso, sake and mirin and whisk together. Bring the marinade to a slow boil, then remove from heat. Allow marinade to cool.  Place the fish fillets in a shallow dish; pour the marinade over the fish.  Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour or overnight.
In a large skillet heat butter and add the garlic. Saute garlic for approximately 2 minute until lightly brown.  Add the mushrooms and saute until a light golden brown, about 10 minutes. Add lemon juice and soy sauce, continue to saute. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside and keep warm.
Liberally oil grill and heat to medium-high. Grill the fish, turning once, until cooked through, approximately 3 minutes per side. Serve with the mushrooms and rice.

Rogan Josh

Ingredients:

1 lb boneless cubes of beef or lamb

2 large tomatoes (chopped)

1 onion (chopped)

2 tblsp butter

2 tblsp garlic paste

2 tblsp ginger paste

2 tblsp tomato paste

2 bay leaves

2 tblsp ground coriander

1 1/2 tsp chilli powder

1/2 tsp ground tumeric

1 tsp garam masala

1/2 cup beef or vegetable broth

Marinade:

1 1/2 cups plain yogurt

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients for the marinade.  Add the lamb/beef and rub the marinade thoroughly.  Allow to marinade for 30 minutes.

In a food processor or blender, add onions and tomatoes, process until well blended. Add butter to a large skillet and melt.  Add garlic and ginger; stir fry gently.  Add bay leaves, coriander, tumeric garam masala and chilli powder. Continue to stir for 30 seconds; do not allow spices to burn.  Stir in blended tomato mixture, tomato paste and broth. Reduce heat and allow to simmer stirring occasionally for 5-8 minutes. Add the meat and the marinade. Continue to cook and stir for approximately 2 minutes. Reduce heat and cover.  Allow to cook for 30 minutes stirring occasionally. Add salt and pepper to taste.  Check sauce, do not allow to dry out.  Add a little water (few tablespoon) if necessary.  Cook for another 15-20 minutes.  Serve over basmati rice.

Chicken Tikka Masala

This is probably one of the most popular Indian dishes.  This is a recent invention made in one of the restaurants here in the United States.  Oven roasted or grilled chicken will work as well if you do not have tandoori chicken. To make Tandoori chicken all you need is Tandoori paste, which can be purchased in most ethnic grocery stores,  mix it with 1 cup of yogurt. Marinade the chicken piece then broiler in the oven.

Ingredients:

8 pieces cooked Tandoori chicken

1 14oz canned chopped tomatoes

1 1/4 cups heavy cream

2 tblsp butter

2 cloves garlic (minced)

1 fresh red chilli (seeded and minced)

3 tsp cumin

3 tsp paprika

salt and pepper to taste

Cilantro sprigs for garnish

Melt the butter in a large skillet. Add garlic and chilli and stir fry for 1 minute. Stir in cumin and paprika. Continue to stir for another 30 seconds.  Do not allow spices to burn.  Add  the tomatoes with juice and continue stirring.  Stir in the heavy cream and allow sauce to simmer in low for 10 minutes stirring frequently. Sauce should thicken.

Remove bones from the chicken pieces.  Add the chicken pieces to the sauce.  continue cooking for another 3-5 minutes or until chicken is heated through. Garnish with cilantro.

Kedgeree

This is a classic English dish served during brunch that originated from India when it was under the British rule.  I've always been curious about this dish and even more so when I met Chef Darren McGrady. When Darren published his cookbook "Eating Royally", I figured I had to try it.  Once I had his, I had to make it my own. So, here is "my" version of the Kedgeree. Thanks Darren for inspiring me.

Ingredients:
1 cup basmati rice
4 cups water
2-3 strands of saffron thread
2 cups heavy cream or half-and-half
1 1/2 tblsp curry powder
4 had boiled eggs (peeled and quartered)
2 stalks green onions (finely chopped)
1 1/2 lbs of  salmon or smoked haddock or, mackrel (flaked)
2 handfuls of cilantro or parsley (roughly chopped)
Cayenne pepper to taste (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste

Poaching Liquid for salmon:
1 bay leaf
1/2 lemon (sliced thinly)
5-6 whole pepper corns
enough water to cover salmon

If cooking rice in a rice cooker, place rice, water and saffron threads into rice cooker  and follow recommended cooking method. If not, place rice, 4 cups of water and saffron threads in a large pot and allow to boil. Cook until all liquid has been absorbed and rice is tender.  Reduce to low and cover and allow to steam for 15 minutes.  In a large separate sauce pan, combine heavy cream, curry and cayenne pepper, whisk until blended.  Allow the cream mixture to simmer until slightly thickened.  Add the rice and green onions, stirring constantly until well blended. Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Add flaked fish and continue to stir gently so as not to break up the fish.  Top with the hard boiled eggs and cilantro or parsley.  Serve while warm.

Poaching Salmon:

In a deep pan, add enough water to barely cover salmon, lemon and bayleaf.  When water starts to simmer, add the salmon. swirl water and pour over salmon.  Continue until salmon is cooked through and is a very light pink.  Remove from the poaching liquid.  Allow to cool slightly before flaking the meat.

P.S. Darren's website is - www.theroyalchef.com.  Check it out.

Fried Rice with Chorizo and Eggs

This is a classic breakfast from the Philippines.  It is a filling and hearty meal to start out the day.  The chorizo used is the Spanish version (very different from the Mexican Chorizo; they don't come close) or longaniza (Philippine sweet sausage).  This is great for using up leftover rice.  We occasionally do this for breakfast on the weekends. It is a great comfort food.  Many serve it with coconut vinegar and patis (fish sauce) to dip the chorizo in.  Note: Fish sauce can be purchased at your local Asian grocery store.

Ingredients:

2-3 cups leftover cooked rice

3-5 tblsp canola or olive oil

3-4 cloves of garlic (minced)

1 small onion (finely chopped)

2 small chorizo or longaniza (cut diagonally)

4 eggs

Salt and pepper to taste

coconut vinegar and patis (fish sauce) for dipping.

Heat the 2-3 tblsp of oil in a deep non-stick skillet.  Add onion and garlic; cook stirring occasionally until onion and garlic are brown (do not burn).  Add the rice, breaking up the lumps.  Stir-fry until the garlic and onions are incorporated and the rice is heated through.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

In a separate frying pan or wok, add 1 tblsp of oil and fry the chorizo/sausages until lightly crisp on both sides.  Remove from pan and allow to drain on paper towel.

In another pan, heat the remaining oil and fry the eggs.  Fry either sunny side up or over easy (turning the eggs over carefully without breaking the yolk). Cook eggs to preferred doneness.  Season eggs with salt and pepper.

Spoon rice into a small bowl and pack lightly, turn bowl over on a plate to create a small mound of rice.  Arrange chorizo/sausage around the rice.  Top the rice with an egg.  Serve with coconut vinegar and patis for dipping the chorizo/sausage.

Black Sticky Rice Pudding

The first time my husband and I had this dessert was at our favorite Thai restaurant.  We just looked at each other across the table and I knew, I had to find this recipe.  This is a dessert and not served over rice, but I would be remiss by not adding it to my blog.  Black sticky rice is just white rice with the bran left on. Be sure to cook the rice first before adding sugar.  Or else the rice will toughen (learned the hard way).  There is no amount of liquid you can add to soften. If you are not able to find taro, you can omit; it does not change the taste. You can find black sticky rice at your local Asian grocery store and in some high end grocery stores (Whole foods, Central Market).

Ingredients:

6oz black sticky rice (black glutinous)

8oz taro root (cut into 1/2 inch squares) soak in cold water

2 1/2 cups water

10 tblsp sugar ( a little less than 2/3 cup)

1 tsp salt

1 cup coconut milk

Put black rice in a bowl and cover with cold water. Soak for at least 4 hours or overnight.  Drain the rice and rinse 4-5 times to ensure most of the starch is removed.  The water will not run clear.  In a sauce pan, add the rice and the 2 1/2 cups of water. Bring to a boil; stirring frequently until it reaches boiling point. Reduce the heat to medium, let it simmer for 30-35 minutes stirring regularly until all liquid has been absorbed and the rice is moist and tender. Remove from heat.

Meanwhile, drain the taro root. spread on a plate or heatproof container and steam in a bamboo steamer or metal steamer covered for 8-10 minutes until taro is tender.

When the rice is done, gently stir in the sugar until it is incorporated. Gently mix in the taro root.  Add the salt to the coconut milk and mix well.  Spoon the rice mixture into a bowl and pour coconut milk on top. Serve warm.

Eggplant, Bitter Melon and Okra Stew (Pinakbet)

This is a classic Philippine dish that uses shrimp paste.  You can find shrimp paste at your local Asian grocery store.  Indonesian and Thai also have shrimp paste. If you cannot find the Philippine version (bagoong), then feel free to use one of the others. The fried pork belly adds a nice texture to the vegetable and rice dish.

Ingredients:
8oz of fresh okra
1 Bitter melon (an acquired taste; can be omitted) - cut in half, remove seeds and cut into bite size pieces.
8oz of fresh string beans
1 eggplant cut into bite size pieces
1 cup of calabasa (hard squash) - remove seeds, cut into bite size pieces
3 cloves garlic (minced)
1 medium onion (minced)
1 14oz can of plum tomatoes (chopped), save the juice
1-2 tblsp shrimp paste
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup chicken broth or vegetable broth
2 tblsp of canola or olive oil

In a large deep pan, heat the oil.  Add onions and garlic, fry until aromatic and the onions are translucent (do not allow garlic to burn).  Add the chopped tomatoes and the juice. Continue stirring until tomatoes are heated through (approximately 3-4 minutes). Add the okra and hard squash. Continue to stir for 1 minute, add the string beans, bitter melon and eggplant.  Continue stirring for 3 minutes.  Add the chicken broth and the shrimp paste stir until mixture is well combined; allow it to come to a boil. Lower heat and cover.  Allow to simmer for 10-15 minutes or until vegetables are tender but not soft.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Spoon rice into a plate or bowl, add the stew and a slice or two of fried pork belly. 

Note: To make the fried pork belly, slice the pork belly into a thin strip. Season with salt and pepper.  Fry in hot oil until it is crisp outside and inside is a pale pink. To make this vegetarian, use vegetable broth instead of chicken. Omit the fried pork belly.