Japanese Inspired Fish

Everyone knows I really enjoy True Food Kitchen. They have some great dishes that I don't feel too guilty eating. JC and I make their Tuscan Kale Salad on a regular basis, and now we have another dish to add to our recipe book.

One of my favorite entrees is their Miso Glazed Black Cod. It is slightly sweet with a definite Japanese influence. The cod stays nice and juicy, and it is served on a bed of bok choy with mushrooms. I was thumbing through Harumi's Japanese Home Cooking which is a great cookbook for anyone that wants to try simple Japanese cooking at home. Her recipe for Poached Red Sea Bream caught my attention because it reminded me a lot of the dish at True Food Kitchen, sans the miso. I decided to give it a try since it calls for a very short list of ingredients, and it blew me out of the water. This dish tastes exactly like the Miso Glazed Black Cod. The fish retains its moisture in the sauce and is just a tad sweet. I also threw in some oyster mushrooms and served it with a side of wakame seaweed as Harumi suggests. I also substituted black cod since they did not carry red sea bream at the store. We served it over a bed of stir-fried bok choy.

Poached Red Sea Bream
from Harumi's Japanese Home Cooking by Harumi Kurihara

• 1 lb red sea bream (I substituted black cod)
• 1/4 c. sake (I substituted rice wine)
• 1/4 c. mirin
• 1/4 c. soy sauce
• 1/4 c. water
• 3 Tbsp sugar
• 1 Tbsp fresh ginger, sliced

1. Cut each fish fillet into 3-4 pieces
2. In a large shallow pan, mix together the sake, mirin, soy sauce, water, and sugar and bring it to a boil. Add the fish pieces into the broth, taking care to arrange them so they sit side by side. Sprinkle the sliced ginger over the fish.
3. Back back to boil, cover with drop lid made from foil or wax paper (*see below) and simmer for 5-6 minutes. When the liquid has reduced to just less than half, turn off the heat and leave for a short while for the fish to absorb some of the remaining liquid. 
4. Remove the fish and ginger from the pan and place on a serving dish. Pour over any remaining sauce from the pan. 

*Drop Lid (Otoshibuta) according to Harumi: "Traditionally, drop lids were made of wood. They are placed in a pan, directly on top of food as it cooks. It is a technique frequently used in Japanese cooking to ensure even distribution of flavor. These days, most households use lids made of aluminum foil or greaseproof paper with a hole in the middle. You can fashion a disk easily, making sure it is slightly smaller than the inside of the pan. It is a different way of cooking but it is very useful and very Japanese."

Simple Chinese Dinner

This is what we had for dinner tonight and it could not have been more simple or more delicious (or more cheap!).

Have you ever noticed that every single Asian grocery store smell exactly the same. I don't know what it is. It is like a musty, herbal smell. I've been to many Asian grocery stores, all around the country, and they all have that distinct smell. 

We have an Asian grocery store down the street from us, Stone and Grant Market. Of course, it smells like your typical Asian market. It has tons of inexpensive vegetables which are displayed in a very unsanitary manner, a few aisles devoted to just sauces, and a huge meat selection of cuts you normally wouldn't find at your neighborhood grocer. And this is why I keep coming back. 

I was in the mood for a Chinese spicy shrimp dish with some Chinese vegetables. We made a quick stop at Stone and Grant Market to pick up some shrimp, oyster mushrooms, pea shoots, and gailan (chinese broccoli) to whip up a quick dinner. From start to finish, our entire meal was done in less that 30 minutes (I know because we were watching the Presidential Debate). This is a great weeknight meal that will leave you with leftovers for lunch and dinner the next day. I also decided to add some sliced oyster mushrooms to the dish, this is totally optional.

Shrimp with Spicy Garlic Sauce
from Appetite for China

1 1/2 pounds uncooked large shrimp

3 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons chili sauce (I used Sriracha)

2 teaspoons sesame oil

2 teaspoons Chinese rice wine

1 teaspoon sugar

2 tablespoons olive oil

4 cloves garlic, crushed or finely chopped

1 pinch freshly-ground black pepper

1 scallion, thinly sliced

optional: sliced oyster mushrooms

1. Peel the shrimp, leaving the tail segments intact. Devein the shrimp if you choose.

2. In a small bowl, mix together the soy sauce, chili sauce, sesame oil, rice wine, and sugar and set aside.

3. In a wok or large pan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Stir-fry the garlic until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the shrimp and cook until both sides are pink, about 2 minutes on each side. Add the sauce mixture and stir so the shrimp is fully coated. Season with black pepper. Add the mushrooms and stir-fry for a few more minutes.

4. Remove from the heat and garnish with chopped scallions. Serve with rice or vegetables.

Spring Lasagne in September

I made a fantastic dinner tonight. I'm currently taking a few weeks off of rotations to study for my second board exam, Step 2 CK. This means I spend most the day studying and I make sure to finish at a decent time so I actually have time in the evenings to cook dinner. This makes me so happy.

I recently picked up Art Smith's cookbook Back to the Table at Bookmans. He is definitely one of my favorite chef personalities. He's been on multiple episodes of Top Chef and seems like such a nice guy, and his food always looks great too. I love that his food isn't too fancy, just good, homestyle dishes made with love. I've thumbed through some of the recipes in the book, and they don't seem to complicated and I've already bookmarked a few I want to try.

First round was his Spring Vegetable Lasagne. The photo in the book made this look amazing. This probably would have been better to make in the spring since it isn't asparagus season right now, but this dish is perfect on a cool evening, like tonight.

This was my first attempt at a bechamel sauce. I've seen it done countless times on television, though I have never done it myself. It is actually quite simple. You basically start with simmered milk and then mix it into a roux. Continue to whisk, and ta-da, you have a thick, creamy, delicious bechamel sauce. This sauce is delicious. I ended up licking the bowl with leftover sauce. It would be perfect just to simply mix over pasta.

The end result of this dish is a definitely thumbs up. It is a little time consuming because there are quite a few steps, but it is fairly simple and the end product looks, and tastes, amazing. My photo does not do this dish justice, it looks pretty sad, but trust me, it tastes great.

Spring Vegetable Lasagne
from Back to the Table by Art Smith

Bechamel Sauce
3 c. milk
1 small onion, sliced
2 garlic cloves, crushed under a knife and peeled
3 sprigs fresh thyme
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons flour

Lasagne
1/2 grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 lb asparagus, trimmed a cut in half lengthwise if thick
3 medium yukon gold potatoes, peeled a cut into 1/4-inch thick rounds
12 oz lasagna noodles
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 cups shredded Italian Fontina cheese
4 oz prosciutto, thinly sliced
1/4 grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into cubes

To make the bechamel, bring the milk, onion, garlic and thyme to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Remove from the heat and infuse for 10 minutes. Strain, discarding the solids.

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Whisk in the flour and let bubble without browning for 2 minutes. Whisk in the warm milk and bring to a simmer. Cook, whisking often, until the sauce is smooth with no taste of raw flour, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the Parmesan  Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to a bowl. Press a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the sauce to keep a skin from forming.

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the asparagus and cook until crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Using a skimmer, transfer the asparagus to a bowl of ice water. Drain and pat dry.

Add the potatoes to the boiling water and cook until almost tender, about 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Cook the pasta in boiling salted water. Cook until barely tender. Drain and rinse under cold water. Toss the pasta with oil.

Reheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter a 13 x 9-inch baking dish. Spread a thin film of the bechamel sauce in the bottom of the dish. Arrange 3-4 pasta sheets in the pan, slightly overlapping and trimming as needed. Spread with one third of the sauce, half each of potatoes, asparagus, Fontina cheese, and prosciutto. Top with another layer of pasta, half of the remaining sauce, and the remaining potatoes, asparagus, Fontina, and prosciutto. Finish witha layer of pasta and spread with the remaining sauce. Sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese and dot with the butter.

Bake until the sauce is bubbling and the top is golden, about 30 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving. Serve hot.