Pan-Fried White Fish Fillets Served With Green Olive and Parsley Salsa

It was truly a relief when I found out Mister actually loved this fish recipe. The reason why I worried so much is because he wasn't a big fan of green olives and red wine vinegar, which happened to be two of the main flavor sources for the dressing.

Surprise surprise, I guess it's either the cooking done right or I got lucky with the flavor combination. In the end, he really enjoyed the fish. Not just ok or a simple praise, but truly loved. He specifically said it was so good. I guess I deserve a few pats on the shoulder for that.

Pan-fried white fish fillets served with green olive and parsley salsa - 

Ingredients (for two medium fillets)?

• 2 medium white fish fillets
• Some flour
• Some salt
• Some black pepper
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• Some lemon wedges

Salsa:

• 8 green olives
• 1 small bundle flat leaf parsley
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 3 garlic cloves
• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard or yellow mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

How?

Have some flour with the amount enough to coat both sides of the fish fillets. Ready the flour on a big plate and mix in some salt and black pepper. I used about 2 pinches of salt here.

Coat the fish fillets with the flour mixture on both sides. I got skin-on rockfish fillets here but no bones. 

To make the salsa, remove the pits from the olives then chop the flesh. Mainly use the leafy part for the flat leaf parsley, give it a rough chop too. Peel and chop the garlic cloves. Zest 1 lemon then slice to six wedges.

Mix together the prepped olives, parsley, lemon zest, garlic together with 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar, 2 teaspoons of mustard, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Set aside till the end.

Drizzle about 4 tablespoons of olive oil to the skillet and switch to medium heat. Once hot, add in the fish fillet skin side down first. Don't move it around too early, wait till the bottom seemed golden or slightly browned then flip and continue to sear the other side.

A side note, during the searing process, the fish will start to "puffed" up when in contact with heat. You can use a weight to keep the fillets pressed down. Or I simply use my spatula to press it down when searing.

Once the bottom is almost golden brown, add 3 lemon wedges. Slightly press on the lemon to help releasing some juice. We'll continue to sear the fish and both sides of the lemon wedges towards the end. Remember to flip the lemon once the bottom side turn slightly browned. 

Make sure the fish has been fully cooked through. Transfer both the fillets and seared lemon wedges to serving plate. 

Don't get too bothered if the seared coating doesn't look too pretty. We will cover it with salsa, so no one will notice (wink*). That said, let's spread the salsa all over the top of the fillets and serve with the remaining 3 lemon wedges.

You can make this fish like an entrée and served with a side of salad, perhaps some sort of potato too. However, I actually paired it with quinoa basmati rice, a bit western and eastern fused together, but they really did work in harmony.

Also for the green olive and parsley salsa, on top of using it on grilled or pan-fried fish, I think it'll also taste good with grilled chicken. Give it a try will you?  

Extended reading:

• Fish fillet packed with kicking spices - blackened fish

Bitter Gourd Cooked With Chinese Pickled Cucumber 壺底油瓜煮苦瓜

Westerners might not know about this dish, but it's one of the common food that will show up on Taiwanese's dining table. The basic idea is to cook the bitter gourd with some sort of Chinese canned pickled melon. However, I used pickled cucumber instead, which comes with denser taste plus a bit sweeter touch. 

The final flavor is somewhat similar doesn't matter you use pickled melon or pickled cucumber, just look for Chinese canned version, and you'll get the correct taste in the end.

Bitter gourd cooked with Chinese pickled cucumber 壺底油瓜煮苦瓜 - 

Ingredients?

• 1 white bitter gourd
• 4 medium pieces Chinese pickled cucumber 壺底油瓜
• 4 tablespoons juice of Chinese pickled cucumber
• 1 small bundle cilantro
• 3 tablespoons olive oil or other preferred cooking oil
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon rock sugar
• Some salt (optional)

How?

Cut the bitter gourd in half lengthwise them scrape off the seeds and membrane. Slice the bitter gourd to rectangular chunks. Chop the cilantro and set aside for later use.

Into the pan, add 3 tablespoons of olive oil or other preferred cooking oil. We are using a bit more oil to semi-sear and semi-fried the bitter gourd, so don't go too easy with the amount of oil used.

Switch to medium heat and wait till the oil gets hot. Add in the bitter gourd and sear till slightly golden on some sides.

Add in 4 medium pieces of Chinese pickled cucumber or pickled melon along with 4 tablespoons of that canned juice. Also add 1 tablespoon of soy sauce. 

Adjust the heat so the whole thing can keep at a medium bubbling stage. Cook till the sauce has been reduced a little. You can break the pickled cucumber to smaller pieces while cooking down the sauce. 

Add in 1/2 teaspoon of rock sugar. Cook till the sugar has been fully dissolved. Remember to flip the bitter gourd once a while to ensure even cooking. 

Taste and adjust if needed. In the case of not salty enough, add salt instead of soy sauce.

Plate and garnish with chopped cilantro.

I used white bitter gourd here because the vendor told me it's less bitter compared to the green varieties. However, it's up to you on the bitterness level. On top of that though, I think white bitter gourd looks better when cooked in dark sauce. That brownish color literally translate the taste as more flavorful in my head. 

Extended reading:

• Bitter gourd stir-fry with salted black beans

Kinpira Gobo きんぴらごぼう (Burdock Root Cooked In Japanese Seasonings)

Some people like to soak the gobo, that's burdock root in Japanese, in water once peeled and cut. By doing so, it can help the burdock root from turning to darker color. But please don't bother for this recipe, especially we are going to cook the burdock root in soy sauce, that means eventually the whole thing will get a brownish hue in the end anyways.

Kinpira gobo きんぴらごぼう - 

Ingredients?

• 1 medium burdock root
• 1 medium carrot
• 300 grams ground pork
• 2 tablespoons toasted white sesame seeds
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon sake (Japanese rice cooking wine)
• 1 tablespoon mirin
• 1 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar

How?

Peel and cut the burdock root to strips, just like julienne it. Peel and cut the carrot to strips too. I used a grater instead for the carrot to save more time and energy, not a fan of prepping carrot with knife here.

Drizzle 2 tablespoons of sesame oil to the pan and switch to medium heat. Once warmed up, add in ground pork and stir-fry till it changes to somewhat white color, like 90% cooked-through.

Add in burdock root strips and carrot strips. Mix once a while and cook for about 5 minutes.

Add in the main seasonings for this classic Japanese recipe, which is soy sauce, sake, mirin, and sugar. The ratio is about 2:1:1:1, but I did use more sugar for a sweeter taste. This dish is supposed to be on a slightly sweeter side in case you never tried it before.

Stir-fry and cook for another 5 more minutes. Taste and adjust the seasonings if needed. It should be somewhat sweet and savory to the taste.

Towards the end, mix in toasted white sesame seeds. Scoop to serving container and enjoy.

This dish can even served cold or under room temperature. 

When traveling in Japan, sometimes you'll find kinpira gobo as one of the side dishes in a bento box. In which the bento is usually served cold or under room temperature, since Japanese don't necessarily heat up their bento boxes most of the time. So to enjoy this dish cold, no problem.

Other recipes using burdock root:

• Chicken and gobo takikomi gohna (鶏ごぼうの炊き込みご飯)
• Not quite the regular miso soup, it's tonjiru time (豚汁)

Lychee and Apple Black Tea 荔枝蘋果紅茶

Auntie gave us a bag of lychee, just the kind of take-home gift that I love! So besides enjoying the fresh and plump lychee as it is, we even got more to splurge on fruity black tea.

Lychee and apple black tea - 

Ingredients (about 3 to 4 servings)?

• 10 to 12 lychee
• 1 to 2 apple (1 big one or 2 medium sized apples)
• 4 cups fruity scented black tea
• Some ice cubes 
• Some simple syrup (optional)
• Some honey (optional)

How?

Brew the black tea of your choice. I used wakoucha here, which is a type of Japanese black tea. Store the tea in the fridge till cold. You can prepare the tea a day before.

Peel and remove the seeds from the apple. Slice the apple to medium size chunks and add to a blender or food processor. Also pour in 1/2 cup of brewed tea. Blend till smooth.

Peel off the bumpy lychee skin and remove the seed in the center. Repeat for all the lychees and transfer the sweet flesh to a cup. Beat till the flesh break down to smaller bits, and lots of juice flows out.

Of course you can just use the food processor to do the job, especially if you're aiming for smaller pieces of fresh lychee when enjoying the tea.

Have your serving cup or glass ready, add 2 tablespoons of lychee juice along with 2 tablespoons of the lychee flesh. Also add 2 tablespoons of apple juice with plup. Fill 1/3 or up to half of the cup with ice cubes.

Pour the cold black tea all the way up. Stir and give it a quick taste. If sweeter taste is preferred, consider adding some simple syrup or second best choice honey to the tea.

To make the simple syrup, mix together equal amount of sugar and drinkable water. You need to use low heat to warm up the water so that the sugar will dissolve completely. Try to store the simple syrup in the fridge and wait till cold before use in drinks.

I didn't add any extra syrup or honey for my tea. The natural sweetness from the plump lychees I got was enough. Also when biting into the lychee flesh, you'll get a a sudden pop of sweetness from it, really enjoyable. 

Extended reading:

• Apple and honey black tea (the blender way)

Chinese Spicy Sausage and Shrimp Rice Using Rice Cooker

Imgur, the image sharing and hosting service that I've been using for years, just decided to stop letting IPs from Taiwan to upload any more images. What a bummer. 

So all my recent posts images were either uploaded to Imgur before their "execution" date, uploaded directly through Blogger, or uploaded when I was traveling abroad. Not sure why Imgur stopped their service to Taiwan, but I highly suspect it was due to some sort of political reason. 

Oh well, if you have any good alternatives, please kindly drop a message and let me know. I'm not sure how long or how big of the files Blogger will hold.

Chinese spicy sausage and shrimp rice using rice cooker - 

Ingredients (about 4 servings)?

• 2 1/2 rice measuring cups white rice (I used basmati rice)
• 2 links Chinese spicy sausage
• 14 to 15 shrimp
• 6 medium spiced dried bean curd 五香豆乾
• 6 dried shiitake mushroom
• 1 medium bell pepper
• 120 grams lettuce salad
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon oyster sauce

How?

Quickly rinse the dried shiitake mushrooms and soak in room temperature water. I used filtered drinkable water. Soak till softened.

Once ready, save the water and remove the mushrooms. Destem then slice the cap.

Peel and devein the shrimps. Destem, pitted, and slice the bell pepper to strips. Cube the spiced dried bean curd. Destem then slice the lettuce to strips.

Use the Asian rice measuring cup, the smaller kind to measure the rice, not the usual measuring cups. Add to the inner pot of rice cooker, gently wash the rice like you'd usually do.

Drain out the liquid. Mix in shiitake mushrooms, bell pepper, and bean curd.

Season with 1 tablespoon of soy sauce and 1 teaspoon of oyster sauce. Place two Chinese spicy sausages on top then arrange shrimps around. Pour in 1 cup of shiitake water, the one used in soaking the mushroom. Then add enough of water until it reaches the "2 cups" indication mark on the pot.

Shut the lid and simply press that cooking button. Just wait till it's ready, can't be easier than that.

Once ready, remove the sausages. Slice then mix back to the pot. Gently fold in lettuce strips while the rice is still hot.

I used Asian spicy sausages from Hunan province. It was smoked and got that Asian style spicy note. Such sausage is like a magic ingredient, making everything with it extra delicious.

However, if you're having trouble finding such particular ingredient, I think Cajun spiced sausages will somewhat do the trick too.  

Other recipes using rice cooker:

• Pork bamboo shoot and shiitake takikomo gohan 炊き込みご飯
• Chicken and gobo takikomi gohan (鶏ごぼうの炊き込みご飯)
• Japanese hijiki no takikomi gohan ひじきの炊き込みご飯
• Mama Yu's cabbage rice 余媽媽高麗菜飯
• Aromatic magao chicken soup prepared with Tatung steam rice cooker

One Way to Utilize Leftover Lady Fingers - Coffee and Chocolate Ice Cream Cake

I made some tiramisu a while back, the non-alcoholic version. So I got a pack of lady fingers but ended up with more than half of the portion unused. That's why this ice cream cake recipe was born, just a simply way to use up all the leftover lady fingers that's been sitting in the shelf for weeks.

Coffee and chocolate ice cream cake using lady fingers - 

Ingredients?

• 18 to 22 lady fingers
• 2/3 cup coffee (black or milky kind)
• 400ml cookie and cream ice cream (just pick something you like)
• 400ml milk ice cream (just pick something you like)
• Some dark chocolate shavings
• Some cocoa powder

How? 

Brew the coffee of your liking, let it be black coffee or the milky kind, both work find. We need about 2/3 cup. Once done, pour over to a dish with some depth, a dish wide enough to soak in the entire lady finger. Set aside and let cool.

Line a meatloaf pan with cling foil. It doesn't have to be pretty, just helps pulling out the cake in the end.

Remove one of the ice cream from the freezer and wait till soften enough to scoop and reshape, but not too watery or soggy.

When ready to assemble, dip the lady finger to the coffee both sides, then arrange one single layer on the bottom of the pan.

Scoop the softened ice cream all over and try to smooth out the surface. I used cookie and cream ice cream to begin with, but my optimal choice was coconut milk, no luck finding that.

Shave some dark chocolate all over the surface.

Loosely cover the pan with cling foil and into the freezer till set. At least semi-set, that'll be a minimum of 30 minutes just to be safe. Meanwhile, remove the second ice cream choice from the freezer and wait to be softened.

Once ready, take out the pan, uncover, and add another layer of coffee-dipped lady fingers. Scoop the second ice cream flavor all over and smooth out the surface.

Loosely cover with cling foil again and into the freezer till fully set this time. I waited 2 hours, but preferably overnight.

When ready to serve, remove the pan from the freezer and invert to a cutting board. Take out the cling coil. Dust some cocoa powder all over the top. Slice and serve right away.

I took too long setting up the plate and table, so by the time I'm ready to take some pictures, the bottom ice cream nearly all melted.

Also I guess the consistency of the milk flavored ice cream I chose had something to do with it too. It was a bit softer than the cookie and cream one, making it harder to hold up the shape once removed from the fridge. 

Oh well, still not too bad in the end especially I didn't get to use my top choice coconut milk ice cream. What would you use instead? I suppose a bit exotic matcha flavored ice cream should tastes pretty good too.

Extended reading:

• No alcohol no heavy cream tiramisu (quality eggs will do)

Tuna and Olive Linguine for Two

Usually I would just cook big portions of food, like finishing the entire pasta package at once. So there must be a reason why I only made linguine for two here. Well, it's because the price for sashimi grade tuna is $$$$.

You know, unlike back in the states, I think it's how people used to cook their fish here in Taiwan, so it's a bit hard for me to simply find tuna "steak" at the supermarket. The only whole chunky tuna that I can find is sashimi grade tuna. And it'll come in either sliced version or sometimes they'll have a box or two uncut pieces on the side.

That's why instead of making tuna pasta for six plates, I think this time a lovely meal for two will do.

Tuna and olive linguine - 

Ingredients (for two servings)?

• 220 grams sashimi grade tuna or tuna steak
• 2 servings linguine pasta
• Some extra virgin olive oil
• 4 green olives
• 2 anchovies in oil
• Small bundle of parsley
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 bundle shallots (about 2 tablespoons peeled and chopped)
• Some salt
• 1/3 cup dry white wine
• 1/3 cup pasta water 

 

How?

Prepare a pot of water and season with few pinches of salt. Bring to a boil and toss in enough pasta for two servings. Cook till almost al dente. Save some pasta water first then drain the rest.

Meanwhile, cube the tuna. Depit the green olives then give it a rough chop. Peel and chop the shallots. Peel and chop the garlic cloves. Finely chop the parsley.

Have a pan ready and drizzle 2 tablespoons of olive oil. I simply used extra virgin olive oil throughout. Use medium heat and add in chopped shallots and garlic. Sear till aromatic but not burnt. Add in anchovies, sear and break the anchovies apart with a spatula.

Add in olives and continue to cook for about 30 seconds.

Add in cubed tuna. Stir-fry till about half cooked through.

Pour in 1/3 cup of dry white wine and bring to a boil. Let it boil for a little bit longer than pour in 1/3 cup of pasta water we saved earlier. Bring to a boil again and add in drained pasta. 

Let the pasta cook in the liquid for about a minute while stirring the ingredients in order to mix in some air. Still bubbling too.

Taste and season with salt. I used 1 teaspoon of salt myself. When all checked and set, drizzle some more extra virgin olive oil over. Toss then plate. Garnish with chopped parsley.

If you prefer a stronger savory taste, use more anchovies in the beginning. Perhaps up to 4 slices instead. It's like umami packed in these little fish fillets and will highly enhance the flavor of the final pasta. 

Other recipes using sashimi grade tuna:

• Sashimi grade tuna otsumami served with nori sheet
• Paccheri with tuna in red bell pepper sauce (portion for two)
• Tuna tataki coated with double roasted white sesame seeds

Braised Soy Sauce Chicken Over Rice

Two ways to enjoy this chicken over rice meal, one you can leave the chicken leg as it is and dive into chewing the meat off the bones. Then there's a more elegant way but of course leaving most of the deboning work to the person who's cooking it.

Being a nice cook here, I've decided to pick out all the bones after braising the chicken legs, so whoever's eating it can save the hassles and enjoy mouthful of meat all the way through.

Braised soy sauce chicken over rice -

Ingredients (about 4 to 6 bowls)?

• 4 or about 1200 grams chicken legs
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 6 garlic cloves
• 2 stalks scallion

Actual cooking:

• 2 to 3 tablespoons preferred cooking oil
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 bulbs shallots (about 1/3 cup peeled and chopped)
• 2 slices ginger
• 2 stalks scallion
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup dark soy sauce
• 1/4 cup aged Shaoxing wine
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 2 star anises
• 1 aged tangerine peel
• 1 teaspoon rock sugar
• 4 to 6 portions cooked rice
• 1 pack bok choy
• 1 pinch salt 

 

How?

Marinate the chicken legs with 1/2 cup of soy sauce, 6 peeled garlic cloves, and 2 stalks of destemed and sectioned scallion. Massage the sauce into the meat then let it marinate in the fridge overnight.

Remember to flip the chicken legs to the other side half way through.

Cook the rice when close to serving time, I prepped some quinoa white rice for extra nutrition boost.

For the braising part, peel 2 extra garlic cloves, destem and section 2 more stalks of scallion. However, do chop or slice some scallion greens diagonally for garnish in the end. Scrape the skin off the ginger then slice to about 2mm thickness pieces, we need 2 slices here. Peel and chop the shallots.

Bring out a big pot, drizzle 2 to 3 tablespoons of preferred cooking oil and switch to medium heat. Add in garlic, shallot, ginger, and scallion sections. Sear till aromatic but not burnt.

Move the aromatics aside and transfer marinated chicken legs over skin side down first. Just the chicken legs, in which we will add the marinade later. Once the skin gets that slightly browned sear, flip and cook the other side till colored again.

Pour in all the remaining marinade along with the ingredients inside. Also add additional seasonings over, that means 1/4 cup of soy sauce, 1/4 cup of dark soy sauce, 1/4 cup of aged Shaoxing wine, 2 star anises, 1 aged tangerine peel, and 1 1/2 cups of water.

Bring to a boil then adjust the heat to keep it at a medium bubbling stage. Continue to braise for about 20 minutes. Remember to flip the chicken half way through.

Towards the end, add 1 teaspoon of rock sugar and cook till all melted and blended evenly with the sauce.

While braising the chicken, let's prep the veggies. Have a medium pot filled with water. Bring to a boil then add in one pinch of salt. Add in trimmed bok choy and cook for just about one minute. Drain and set aside for later use.

If you want to be more professional or looking for that perfect way of prepping the bok choy, go ahead and dump the cooked leafy greens in icy cold drinkable water. Quickly cool down the temperature in order to better keeping that vibrant green color. As for me? Nah.

So when the chicken is ready, remove the chicken and set side to cool off. When cool enough to handle by hand, pick out the meat and tear to threads. I actually chew on the leftover bones as my reward for cooking this meal. Some might not know, but the meat close to the bones tastes really delicious.

As for the remaining braise, drain and keep the sauce. You'll use it to drizzle all over the rice bowls. And if there's any leftover sauce, use it for future meals such as base sauce for dry noodles.

Scoop some rice to serving bowls, arrange bok choy around it, then add shredded chicken in the center. Drizzle braised sauce all over and garnish with scallion greens we saved earlier.

I didn't realize how much meat I can get from 4 big chicken legs. Thought that skin and bones occupy a huge portion of it. But ended up I got so much meat, more than enough for 4 to 6 portions.

Of course you can braise 2 chicken legs instead, but considering all the work and time involved, if let me choose again I'll still go for bigger portion. The most I'll just store cooked meat in the freezer right?

Extended reading:

• Spicy gochujang chicken rice bowls