Milkfish Tenders in Fermented Black Bean Sauce 豆鼓醬燒虱目魚柳

Milkfish is one of the most versatile fish options you can find in Taiwan. On top of that, it's cheap too. Even with the fancier better-tasting farmed version, milkfish is still considered on the quite affordable side comparing to other common varieties such as salmon and bass.

So once a while I do buy a pack of milkfish "tenders" and cook in heavier Chinese seasonings. The so-called tender part is actually the two strips of meat on each side of the lower spine. When processed right, it's like 99.99% boneless, making it one of the ideal fish options to feed the kids, and me. 

Milkfish tenders in fermented black bean sauce 豆鼓醬燒虱目魚柳 - 

Ingredients?

• 300 grams milkfish tenders
• 1 tablespoon dried fermented black beans (豆鼓)
• 2 1/2 tablespoons Chinese rice cooking wine
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 to 2 red chilies
• 1 stalk scallion
• 4 shiitake mushrooms
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon granulated sugar

How?

Use 1 tablespoon of Chinese rice cooking wine to soak the dried fermented black beans for about 10 to 15 minutes. Note that usually you'll find both the dried version and the oiled version fermented black beans at the market. If using the oily kind, skip the soaking step.

Slice the fish to big size pieces. Some of the milkfish tenders I got can be slightly longer than preferred, so I sliced that in half instead. Use 1 1/2 tablespoons of Chinese rice cooking wine plus 1 tablespoon of soy sauce to massage and marinate the fish for 10 to 15 minutes.

Peel and roughly chop the garlic cloves. Destem and slice diagonally for the red chilies. Destem then section the scallion. Destem then quarter the shiitake mushrooms. The shiitake mushrooms I've got come with decent size, so quarter them is just about right. If you can only get the smaller kind, buy a few more and maybe halve or use whole mushrooms instead.

Have a pan ready and drizzle 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Switch to medium heat and wait till the oil gets warm. Add in garlic, red chilies, scallion sections, fermented black beans along with the marinating rice wine. Give it a quick mix and sear till aromatic but not burn the garlic bits.

Add in the shiitake mushrooms and give it a quick stir-fry for about a minute. Push things to the side of the pan. Pour in the fish along with its marinade to the empty space in the center.

Sear and wait till the bottom of the fish has set a little then flip and sear the other side. Don't move around too much at first, wait till that side starts to set too. That way the fish can better keep its shape instead of breaking apart while you do the stir-frying motion too soon.

Season with 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce, and 1/4 teaspoon of granulated sugar. Mix gently and cook till the sauce seemed reduced a little. Plate and serve.

The sugar is essential to bring the entire dish to a more balanced taste. You see that most of the seasonings we have are on the salty side, especially the fermented black beans. So by adding a little sugar, it won't make the dish sweet but rather smooth out that saltiness. Yielding a more rounded result.

By the way, you don't have to use milkfish tenders. Any kind of hearty meaty white fish would do, but make sure to avoid the flaky kind. Perhaps tilapia if you're looking for a bargained substitute. Personally seaking I'm not a fan of tilapia, but I do think that the heavier seasonings used in this recipe will make such fish much more tasty.

Extended reading:

• Milkfish tenders with tomato sauce 茄汁虱目魚柳

Chinese Pickled Radish 中式醃蘿蔔

When talking about pickled radish, oftentimes the Japanese version will pop up in my head right away. Like the ones you get at a fine sushi place, the nearly pearl-colored lightly sourish taste radish. 

However, we are going to make the "Chinese" version this time. Still got that sourish element, but in a stronger and more dominant way. To counter that black vinegar aroma, soy sauce, chili, and Sichuan peppercorns were also used. So think of it as a more powerful kind of pickled radish.

Chinese pickled radish 中式醃蘿蔔 - 

Ingredients?

• 630 grams radish (I used two medium sized radish)
• 4 tablespoons granulated sugar
• Some salt
• 2 slices ginger (about 1mm thickness)
• 1 red chili
• 3 to 4 garlic cloves
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1 tablespoon Sichuan peppercorns
• 100ml soy sauce
• 60ml black vinegar

How?

Trim-off the very tips of radish, but no need to peel. Rub the radish with some salt, rinse-off and scrub till cleaned. Dry well, better further use a paper towel to wipe-off any water remained.

Cut the radish to about 1mm thickness slices, no more than 2mm. Add the radish slices to a big mixing container. Sprinkle in 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar, massage in the sugar and let it marinate for at least 15 minutes. I actually let it sit for about 25 minutes.

After that, really use your force to squeeze dry the radish slices then transfer to the container you'll be using for the final storing process. Make sure the container is safe for some heated oil. By the way, after marinating with sugar, the radish slices will turn a bit softer so it shouldn't get torn easily when squeezing. But still be careful not to break all the perfectly round pieces though.

Scrape then slice the ginger, we'll need two 1mm thickness slices here. Peel and slice the garlic cloves. Destem and slice the red chili to rings. Use not as spicy red chilies if you just want a kick instead of overly fiery note for the pickles.

Pour in 1/2 cup of olive to a medium pot. Switch to medium or medium low heat and wait till the oil gets warm, but not sizzling hot. Add in 1 tablespoon of Sichuan peppercorns. Swirl the pot a little, maybe lower the heat a bit too to prevent burning.

Add in 100ml soy sauce, 60ml black vinegar, and 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar. Swirl or mix till all the sugar has been melted.

Remove the pot from the heat and pour all over the radish slices. Scatter prepped ginger, garlic, and red chilies throughout. Give it a few mixes then cover with lid. Into the fridge and marinate for at least one hour.

The pictures I have here for the final pickled radish is the result of sitting in the fridge for one hour. Even with such short time, the flavors were mostly soaked in already, super delicious I would say. 

The pickled radish can sit in the fridge for like 10 days. It will further absorb the seasonings a little more, but surprisingly it won't turn overly salty for some reason. In fact, I especially like the ones with deeper soy sauce coloring. The Chinese version of pickled radish tastes so good, I can even munch on the pickles without any other dishes to eat along with.

Note that a layer of olive oil will gradually coagulate on top after storing in the fridge for some time, which is completely normal. Just remember to start eating the radish on the bottom, since they have already soaked up all the flavors.

You can also find a deeper container and store these pickled radish. That way when the oil thickens on top, it can actually act like a barrier, nicely keeping all the radish slices below fully soaked in the seasonings. 

Japanese version of pickled radish:

• Japanese pickled daikon 大根漬け

Miso Crunch Salad With Seared Salmon - Such a Colorful Meal

Such a colorful meal! I was taking pictures of this salad, and through the camera lens, all these colors looked so vivid and vibrant. In fact, the actual thing was just as showy. It's amazing how pretty a salad can been, all sorted and presented in a single plate.

Miso crunch salad with seared salmon - 

Ingredients (about two portions)?

Main:

• 100 grams kale
• 1/2 medium carrot
• 1 small chunk purple cabbage
• 1 small bundle parsley or cilantro
• 1 small pack/34 grams crispy ramen snack
• 1/2 cup/60 grams green peas 
• 12 cherry tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon toasted white sesame seeds

Salmon:

• 250 grams salmon fillet
• Some olive oil
• Some salt
• Some black pepper

Dressing:

• 2 tablespoons white miso
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin avocado oil
• 2 tablespoons white sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon lime or green lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon grated garlic
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

How? 

Mix all the ingredients listed under the "dressing" section. Set aside for later use.

Peel-off the salmon skin if any. Also use your fingers and feel and flesh throughout, making sure there're no bones within. But of course we're going to slice the salmon to medium size cubes, which will also help in finding any hidden bones if any.

Coat the salmon chunks with olive oil and sprinkle with some salt and black pepper. You can bake these salmon cubes in the oven, but I simply sear them using a pan instead. Either way works fine. Just make sure the salmon cubes are cooked-through. Once ready, remove from heat and set aside waiting for assembling in the end.

Now let's prep all other ingredients for the actual salad part. Have big container ready, roomy enough to mix the ingredients with dressing without worrying about spilling.

Use the leafy part of the kale only, give it few rough chops. Peel and julienne the carrot, or just use thin peels instead. Chop the parsley or cilantro. Thinly slice purple cabbage, which will roughly fill in one loosely packed cup. Halve the cherry tomatoes.

Prepare a small pot of water and bring to a boil. Add in the green peas and cook for no more than a minute. Drain and let cool.

Add all that prepped ingredients to the big container, along with toasted white sesame seeds and a small pack of crispy ramen snack. Remember to crumble the noodles before pouring into the container.

Pour in the dressing too. Toss till combined. Taste and see if any more seasonings are needed. If unsure, I do suggest to use less salt in the beginning because the crispy ramen snack can be quite salty to begin with.

Once flavor checked, arrange on serving plates. 

This recipe should be good for two full servings, so two plates sounds like a good idea. Arrange cooked salmon throughout.

Such a healthy and delicious meal. Well, maybe except the crispy ramen snack part. But you know what, you can totally omit the ramen snack if don't feel like using it. However, if you still craving for a crunchy bite in the salad, perhaps use croutons instead, or some crumbled crackers.

Just remember to add in the croutons or crackers last minute, because they tend to get soft and soggy faster than the fried ramen noodle snacks.

Other salad recipes:

• Shabu pork salad in homemade miso dressing
• Chopped kale and chickpea salad with roasted chicken in red wine vinaigrette dressing
• White bean and tuna salad (insalata di tonno e fagioli)

Baked Camembert with Hot Honey

This is a very versatile recipe. I mean the whole Camembert is there for sure, and who doesn't like a chunk of oozing cheese to eat along with bread? So what goes around the cheese is more so additional points here and there per my opinion.

Honey is another key, it is an ingredient that most likely goes really well with most variety of cheese. So we have the Camembert and honey down for sure. All other extra elements solely depend on your own preference. 

Simply use whichever herb you usually enjoy in a dish, such as rosemary, thyme, and oregano. Dried red chili flakes is my favorite, but a little twist by using pink peppercorns or even Thai sweet chili sauce can be fun too. Remember, the key is to incorporate things that you normally love in this baked cheese recipe.

Baked Camembert with hot honey - 

Ingredients?

• 1 round Camembert cheese
• 1 small sprig rosemary
• 1 garlic clove
• Some baguette or other type of bread of your liking
• Some extra virgin olive oil
• Some salt flakes
• Some black pepper
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 teaspoon dried red chili flakes (I used 1 tablespoon of Thai sweet chili sauce instead)

How?

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius / 395 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove the Camembert from the plastic packaging if there's any, but do save the wooden box. Simply put the cheese back to the wooden box, which can act like a serving container. I further use a baking dish to hold the cheese box in case of any spilling in the oven later on.

Use a knife and score the top of the Camembert. Peel and slice the garlic. Insert the garlic slices here and there within the cracks on the surface of the cheese. Also pick out some rosemary and insert that to the cheese too. 

Since we will be heating up the honey in the oven, I didn't intend to make the hot honey prior, but simply mixing room temperature honey with some Thai sweet chili sauce. You can mix honey with dried red chili flakes too. Pour that all over the cheese. Also sprinkle some salt and pepper on top.

Into the oven. Mine baked for about 15 minutes. Should be around that time. The basic idea is to use high heat and bake till the cheese seems about to melt. Note that the surface of the Camembert might still appear slightly solid, so just aim for the oozing cheese underneath.

Once ready, remove the Camembert from the oven. Drizzle some extra virgin olive oil and serve with preferred bread. I used some baguette slices.

You can also pre-toast the bread slices. Slightly crunchy bread works and dips even better with melted Camembert.

Of course you can serve it with crackers too. But crackers tend to break more easily, so in that case, perhaps have some utensils on the side to scoop out the cheese then spread onto the crackers instead.  

Other recipes good with a glass of wine or two (don't drink and drive):

• Steamed clams with smoked bacon in white wine parsley sauce
• Less oil fried cream cheese wontons

Hands Down My Most Delicious Batch of Madeleines Ever Made - Chocolate Dipped Chocolate Madeleines

These chocolate madeleines were so delicious. Seriously, me and Mister were like munching on at least two madeleines every time we opened the storing container. But why just two? Because the whole batch only yields 12 madeleines, and I gave two to my mother-in-law, so we had to control ourselves and try to make these pastries last a little bit longer.

Chocolate dipped chocolate madeleines - 

Ingredients (about 12 pieces)?

• 115 grams unsalted butter 
• 14 grams/1 tablespoon unsalted butter for prepping the pan
• 2 large eggs
• 80 grams granulated sugar
• 20 grams caster sugar
• 30ml whole milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 95 grams all purpose flour
• 10 grams/1 tablespoon for prepping the pan
• 22 grams cocoa powder
• 10 grams/1 tablespoon for prepping the pan
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

Chocolate dipping sauce:

• 100 grams 70% or dark chocolate
• 5 grams/1 teaspoon unsalted butter

How?

Measure 115 grams of unsalted butter and melt it. I used the hot water bath (bain-marie) method to melt the butter, also changed the hot water once to speed up the melting process. Meanwhile, remove 2 eggs from the fridge and let them rest under room temperature for a little bit.

Bring out a big mixing bowl, I simply used the stand mixer bowls. Measure in 80 grams of granulated sugar plus 20 grams of caster sugar. Also break in that 2 eggs we took out from the fridge earlier.

Beat them either using the stand mixer, but I actually used hand-held mixer instead. Switch to medium speed and beat for about 5 minutes, or till the mixture appears a little frothy-looking.

Pour in 30ml of whole milk and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Beat again till fully blended.

Have another big bowl ready and measure in 95 grams of all purpose flour, 22 grams of cocoa powder, 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder, and 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Sift these powder on top of the big mixing bowl filled with our wet ingredients. Mix till everything has been evenly blended together.

Now let's pour in the melted butter. This time don't use the mixer, but a rubber spatula instead to fold till just about evenly mixed together.

You can use this batter right away, but this time I was more patient and actually store the batter to a lidded container then into the fridge overnight. So the next day when I bake the madeleines, I will be using cold batter, which will help the madeleines rise better and have a more "humped" shape as a result.

So either way, when ready to bake, preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius/350 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Prep the madeleine pan. Again, I used the hot water batch method to melt the butter, this time 14 grams, about 1 tablespoon of butter. Then I brush melted butter to the madeleine mold.

Prepare a small bowl and add in 10 grams, that is about 1 tablespoon of flour plus 10 grams, also about 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder. Mix them together then dust onto the madeleine mold. After that, invert the pan and give it a few taps. This till shake-off excess powder sticking onto the pan.

Some people prefer to further store the prepped madeleine pan in the fridge and wait till cold enough to actually use in baking. The concept is kind of like storing the batter in the fridge overnight. But for the pan, I think 15 to 30 minutes will do the trick, or simply skip this step shouldn't do much harm.

Scoop the batter to the center of each madeleine molds. I used about 1 tablespoon to 1 1/2 tablespoons for each madeleines. There is no need to level or even out the batter, just keep them like imperfect shape of scooped batter balls.

Into the oven and bake for 12 minutes plus or minus 2 minutes depending on your oven heat status. Just to be safe, check halfway through and see if you need to flip the madeleine pan around to ensure even baking. The madeleines are ready when the center rises up, like a humped pastry, and the edge appears darker color.

Remove the pan from the oven and let cool under room temperature. I turned them out onto a wire rack to cool-off.

During this time, melt 100 grams of chocolate along with 1 teaspoon of butter. Use a rubber spatula to mix them evenly together. Pour that chocolate dipping sauce to a smaller but deeper container, which will be easier to dip in the madeleines.

So once the madeleines is cool enough to handle by hand, dip them one by one in the warm chocolate sauce. Then back to the wire rack to cool-off and set, at least 15 minutes. Later on I actually carefully move the chocolate dipped madeleines to the fridge to further help the sauce set.

So I guess the extra work, that means prep the batter a day ahead and store them in the fridge can really make a big difference. These madeleines turned out with a tiny bit moisture feel, I mean they weren't dry at all. More so on a little luscious side.

By the way, even though many chocolate madeleine recipes all look somewhat similar, after all, some classic dessert ingredients and steps have been tried and true. But I did look closer into Emma Duckworth Bakes' chocolate madeleines recipe online for some reference. 

Look at the result, my batch of chocolate madeleines turned out super delicious. So I can assure you that her original recipe should be very good too, most likely even better. And I thank her for publishing that recipe online, so I had a good research before baking these yummy chocolate bites.

Extended reading:

• Two-color madeleines 雙色瑪德蓮

Claypot Pork Belly With Salted Fish 咸鱼花腩煲

Finally it's something Southeast Asian. I've been mostly cooking up Taiwanese, Japanese, and some western food recently, and now it's time for a popular dish around Malaysia and Singapore area, claypot pork belly with salted fish. 

Traditionally this recipe calls for pork belly, either thicker slices or chunks of meat. However, I find it a bit too fatty for my liking, so I switched up half of the meat to pork jowl, the so called Matsusaka pork.

Claypot pork belly with salted fish 咸鱼花腩煲 - 

Ingredients?

• 250 grams pork belly slices (1mm to 2mm thickness)
• 250 grams pork jowl slices (1mm to 2mm thickness)
• 1 small chunk salted mackerel fish 梅香鹹魚
• 1/2 medium onion
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 dried red chilis
• 1 small chunk ginger
• 1 stalk scallion
• 1 tablespoon potato starch
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
• 1 teaspoon aged Shaoxing wine
• 1 teaspoon dark sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon crystal sugar
• 1/2 cup hot water
• Some olive oil

How?

Add 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, 1 teaspoon of aged Shaoxing wine, 1 teaspoon of dark sesame oil, and 1 tablespoon of potato starch to marinate the pork. Do this step first then move on to prepping other ingredients.

Peel and slice the onion to wedges. Peel and roughly chop the garlic cloves. Slice the dried red chilies to shorter sections, also shake-off the seeds inside. Scrape and roughly chop the ginger. Destem and slice the scallion to shorter sections, separate the green and white parts.

Try to remove the skin from the salted fish if possible, also pick out the bones if any. Tear to smaller pieces.

Have a claypot ready and drizzle 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Switch to medium heat and wait till the pot warms up. Add in pork along with the marinade. Stir-fry till just about cooked-through. Scoop out and set aside for later use.

There should be some oil remain in the pot but do drizzle more oil if needed. Add in salted fish, stir-fry till slightly browned and breaks apart.

Add in garlics, ginger, scallion white sections, onion, and dried red chilies. Mix and cook till aromatic, maybe slightly golden brown on the edge for the onion wedges.

Transfer the pork back to claypot. Mix and season with 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of dark soy sauce, and 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce. Flip around till evenly blended.

Pour in some hot water, and the amount of water added should be below the top of the ingredients. I used 1/2 cup of hot water here. Bring to a boil and let it cook for couple more minutes.

Add in the green part of scallion sections. Continue to cook for another 30 seconds. Add about 1 teaspoon of crystal sugar and cook till fully melted. 

The claypot can prolong that heat for quite a while even after you switch-off the fire. Just bring the entire claypot to dining table. This dish should be a crowd pleaser and goes really well with some rice.

The Chinese salted fish I'm referring to is usually made with mackerels. The fish needs to go through fermentation, salt-curing, and sun-drying processes. Usually and maybe the most commonly seen is that you'll find salted fish being used in fried rice in fancier Chinese restaurants.

However, consuming salted fish in small amount once a long while is fine. But don't be like too addicted and include salted fish in your regular meal often. It might be packed with umami and works like a wonder as a flavoring ingredient, but definitely not an ideal item and healthy thing to enjoy on a regular basis. 

Other recipes using claypot:

• Aged Shaoxing wine and soy sauce prawns 花雕醬油大明蝦
• Braised chicken with abalone 鮑魚悶雞

Mentaiko Soft Scrambled Eggs (Japanese Spicy Pollock/Cod Roe)

Often you'll find mentaiko being used in noodles, rice balls, or even as a spread on bread. Some also serve it straight, kind of like a salty side dish accompanying rice or even just with a few drinks (don't drink and drive).

Last time I used some mentaiko in a rice ball recipe and was left with one unused roe. So why not utilize that as a salty seasoning for scrambled eggs? Sounds like an easy yet delicious idea, and here's the result.

Mentaiko soft scrambled eggs - 

Ingredients?

• 6 eggs
• 1 medium small mentaiko fish roe
• 1 stalk scallion
• 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon drinkable water
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

How?

Destem and chop the scallion, separate the white and the green sections. Remove the mentaiko from the membrane, some call it the sac. I simply doing so by cutting a small opening on the end then squeeze out the roe inside.

Break six eggs to a bowl. Also add in 1 teaspoon of drinkable water along with 1 tablespoon of mayonnaise. You can use either the western style mayonnaise or the Japanese kewpie mayonnaise. 

Beat till the eggs have been mixed evenly. Don't worry about blobs of mayonnaise floating on top. As long as the mayonnaise has been breaking into smaller chunks then it won't be an issue later on.

Drizzle 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil to a non-stick pan and switch to medium heat. It's easier to cook soft scrambled eggs with a non-stick pan. However, if you're using stainless pan, just remember to bring up the heat first before adding oil.

Add in chopped scallion whites and 1/8 teaspoon of salt. Stir-fry till aromatic but not over-browning the scallion.

Pour in the egg mixture. Cook it like you are making a French style soft scrambled eggs, but it doesn't have to be super velvety. Just aiming for semi-soft texture instead of fully-cooked eggs in the end.

Also try to keep the eggs in bigger chunks. Do not over stir-fry the eggs, otherwise you might end up with tiny bits of cooked eggs in the end.

Once the egg mixture starts to set a little, mix in the mentaiko. Gently flip around the ingredients till about evenly blended together.

Quickly plate the eggs and garnish with some chopped scallion greens. The actual cooking time for this egg recipe happens really quickly, especially eggs get cooked and hardened very fast. A few minutes the most I would say.

Note that I only added small pinch of salt here, since mentaiko can be quite salty already. It's totally up to you though, if a lighter taste is preferred, omitting the use of extra salt should work fine also.

By the way, I served this scrambled eggs as one of the side dishes to eat along with some rice. However, I suppose adding that with soft white toast could be a great option too. Perhaps also slice some avocado on top to make it an even better fit with the bread.

Extended reading:

• Mentaiko scallion and sesame seeds onigiri