The Western Week - Day 5

Sorry everyone for backlog post... Anyways, day 5's dinner is...

*Drum rolls*

Pan fried breaded cod served with chilled potato salad and fresh green vegetables. Plus a homemade tartar sauce.

We had a free drink too! Well, sort of - TheLoyalFan looted from our Hall's summer party. 

Another really simple dish. The breaded cod was bought in a box at the frozen section and just pan fried them. Wished I had an oven and that would be much easier... That way, I wouldn't be cleaning the newly 'decorated' kitchen with oil splatters : )

Other than that, the sides were repeats from previous dinners... hehehe. Fast and simple for me! ^_^

As for the tartar sauce, it was an attempt to finish up our big bottle of mayonnaise. I've added some finely chopped pickled gherkins in a bowl and squeeze a huge dollop of mayonnaise. Then I seasoned it with some salt and  pepper. I also poured a teaspoonful of juice from the pickled gherkins. Mixed them up, et voila!

The cod was erm... hmmm... quite okay... Well, it was like having fish & chips at our local western food stall back home. Very simple and edible lah! The tartar sauce was kinda chunky because I chopped too many gherkins... but I like it! Yum Yums! Perhaps I should squeeze some lemon juice the next time when I make tartar sauce.

TheLoyalFan says: 'I was slightly disappointed with the fish fillet, it tasted like a huge fish nugget.  As a result, it tasted really oily. The tartar sauce was great though... Never knew it was so easy to make.'


Cost for Day 5: GBP 3.00 for 2 pax.

Fish Soup-Stew

You must be wondering... 'Fish soup? Er... wouldn't it be too overwhelming on the fishy taste and smell? Ugh' Well, I shall let you decide for yourself because everyone has different taste on fish : ) We were watching a TV program on BBC called 'Two Greedy Italians' and they cooked up this dish and it looked so yummy. And so, we've decided to give it a try... how bad can it be, right?

The ingredients are fairly simple and easy to get. And here goes the cooking part...

First, slice up some onion and garlic. Then fry them briefly in a pot with some cooking oil. Add in a can of chopped tomatoes (or equal amount of fresh tomatoes), some proper red wine and a fresh chilli into the pot. We didn't have fresh chilli, hence, used dried chilli as an alternative. Then for herbs, put in parlsey and fennel seeds. Well, I modified it and just poured in my handy bottle of mixed herbs : P
Last but not least, season with some pepper and salt, and then let it simmer for about 10 minutes. If you find that the soup texture is too thick, you can add in water.

As the soup is simmering away, we can start putting in the condiments. First, I put a proper fish - with head, tail and a skeleton... into the soup to boil. Hehe. You know lah, everything in the UK are all packed nicely with just meat only, rarely with bones : P Anyways...

Depending on the size of the fish, let it simmer for at least 10 minutes. Then take the fish out and remove the meat from its frame. The bones and head can be thrown away. Once this is done, you can start putting other seafood condiments such as mussels, prawns and other types of fish meat into your soup. Remember to put the meat that takes the longest time to cook first, followed by the shorter time. Prawns should be inserted last as it cooks very fast. For this attempt, I bought a sea bass and a tray of fish mix (used in fish pie)... Wished I've bought some prawns and mussels though : ( As you are putting in the seafood, season the soup with salt as the taste may start to become bland due to more ingredients in the soup.

Once the rest of the seafood is cooked, put the deboned fish back into the soup, give it a good stir to mix up everything proper and it is ready to serve!

We served it with pasta, but bread is fine too! 

The outcome of this dish was somewhat different than what we would have expected. There is a hint of spicyness and at the same time, it felt like we were having Assam Laksa all over again. Well, I guess it is like the Italian version of it : ) One thing to note is, do not put too much fish as what we did. Otherwise, it would be too fishy! Hahahahaha! And another point to remember is to have a moderate portion of seafood ingredients. We were stuffed after having a bowl of it. Oh yes, I would recommend to start the cooking with high heat and then change it to medium heat. Mine almost got burnt... that's because we changed our cooking hobs and I can't gauge the heat. Rosak liao! And and AND... always stir the soup too!

TheLoyalFan says: ' Tasted like the western version of Assam Laksa. Will need to use less fish the next time and make sure fishes are of the "fresh smelling" kind. Very filling...'

Seems like we're both agreeing on the same points. Will I try this again? Yea, I would but not so soon though. Maybe next month or later... If you want to find out who are the chefs in that TV program, please feel free to check it out from here!

Till then, keep nomming!

Steamed Fish with Soy Sauce

I think fish is quite a tricky ingredient or even a dish to cook. First, one needs to know how to select a good & fresh fish. Then one needs to know methods of cleaning and relevant ingredients to prepare a dish. To be honest, I roughly know how to select a good fish but I'm still not sure how to clean it. But I'm sure the fishmonger will be able to help me on that.

I like to eat fish. OK, correction - I like to eat seafood! So anything that is from the sea, river or farmed fishes from the pond, I like to eat them. Yum yum! We tried cooking steamed fish with frozen cods and haddocks but somehow the texture of the flesh is not nice : ( This time, we went to the market to buy fresh fish, specifically cod fish! 

And the steaming begins!

First, make sure the fish is completely thawed to room temperature. Give it a rinse to remove the ice and if you find the fish is too big, cut into half portion and lay them out flat on a plate. Sprinkle some finely sliced ginger on top of your fish and steam it. There are 2 ways of steaming fish (that I know of) - via the microwave or the conventional water steam method. I did the conventional steaming method and timing is very important for fish. If you steam too long, the flesh might become too 'rubbery' and rough. Hence, I always follow my father's method of steaming fish - small fish, 7 minutes; medium, 9 minutes. To be safe, always check the fish whether it is cooked completely. Once done, we can now prepare the sauce!

I've learnt this recipe from my father... hahahaha! Well, my father is really pro at steaming fish. He can even watch TV while steaming it : ) Anyways, fry some garlic and little bit of ginger in sesame oil (vegetable oil is fine too!). Be generous on the oil as it helps the frying alittle, perhaps add on another tablespoon. Then, pour in soy sauce and fry it. Quickly pour in some wine and remove from heat. Add alittle bit of water to dilute the sauce, otherwise, it can be quite salty. And that's it!

We really enjoyed our steamed fish. You can actually 'taste' the freshness and sweetness from the flesh. Plus the meat texture was soft and melts in your mouth. Mmm~ 

TheLoyalFan says: ' There is nothing better than a steamed fresh fish except maybe a bigger steamed fresh fish : )'