Steamed Fish

Summer arrived in full force, and South Louisiana brings beautiful fresh fish to home kitchens.  The intense heat welcomes light preparations of the bountiful seafood.  Steaming fish remains an underutilized technique, but one that allows us to savor the taste of the sea.  An inexpensive bamboo steamer is a great investment, or you can simply create one with a wide pot with a few inches of water and an inverted bowl.  Bring the water up to a boil then turn down to medium.  This allows the fish to cook gently.  Place the fish on a plate and put the plate on the bowl and cover.  The fish should be nicely cooked after about 8 minutes (depending on the size).  

Below is a rub that I use to impart a nice sweet, spicy, tart flavor without overpowering the wonderful fresh filet.  Gently heat up all of the ingredients until the sugar dissolves.  Let them cool, then brush on the filets.    

Steamed Fish

2 Thai chili sliced

2 garlic cloves minced

1 tsp cilantro

3 tbsp fish sauce

3 tbsp lime juice

2 tbsp pork or chicken stock (or water)

1 ½ tsp palm sugar

¼ tsp white pepper

Garnish with thin sliced green onions, Thai chili, and fresh limes.  

Salt and Pepper Squid

Eight arms, two tentacles, an ink sac and highly edible?  Sounds strange, but throughout the world squid are among the more popular seafoods.  From Japan to Italy to America, they adorn restaurant menus and street food stands everywhere.  Americans have adopted the Italian term calamari in reference to the cephalopod.  

In Vietnam, squid or muc are highly regarded and among the more popular street foods.  Sometimes stuffed with ground pork and bean thread vermicelli, we will explore one of my favorite versions.  Using five spice and some chili, we will do salt and pepper squid which can be an appetizer or entree served with steamed rice.

Muc Rang Muoi- Salt and Pepper Squid

2 lbs. squid bodies sliced across and tentacles, separate
Vegetable Oil

2 egg whites whipped until blended well

2 cups potato starch (or corn starch or rice flour)

1 cup green onion sliced

1 thai chili thinly sliced

1 medium onion thinly sliced

2 garlic cloves minced

salt and pepper blend- 1 tbsp salt, 1 tsp white pepper, 1 tsp sugar, ½ tsp five spice, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp ground ginger

nuoc mam

Toss the squid in the egg whites, then drain and mix with starch.  Heat oil in a deep fryer or wok, and in small batches fry squid until golden brown and remove to a plate lined with a paper towel.  Continue until all the squid is cooked.  Carefully, pour off all the oil into a heatproof container until you have about 3 tbsp remaining.  Place wok back on burner and add onion, chili and garlic.  Stir fry until very fragrant, and add cooked squid back to wok, turn off heat.  Toss gently, add salt and pepper blend and toss again.  Serve with nuoc mam.

The Echo and the Bunnymen Spotify radio station fueled this post!  "Lips Like Sugar" and "The Killing Moon" set the bar for this 80s band who acquired their name from the drum machine originally used in the studio- its name was Echo!  Not only did the station play many Echo contemporaries, but it also added some newer bands and not so new bands.  Interpol, Blur, The Strokes, and Oasis were on the list.  I am just getting into Spotify so any tips would be appreciated, but so far I enjoy the selections.  

Vietnamese Style Stir Fried Clams

Freshly steamed clams are among nature's great treasures!!  These amazing bivalves create a succulent broth with very little help.  The Vietnamese use clams and lemongrass to create wonderful street food, and this style of cooking has been used with mussels and snails also. Some crushed peanuts and herbs adds to a delightful snack!  This recipe has two steps.  A quick stir fry with the first round of seasoning, and then we will steam them in a sauce.  The clam broth combined with our soy based sauce will leave us no choice but to sop it up with some great bread.

Con Nghieu Hap- Vietnamese Steamed Clams

5 lbs. Littleneck Clams (about 50 each)

2 Thai Chilis minced

2 cloves garlic minced

2 tbsp ginger minced
2 tbsp canola oil

Sauce

3 tbsp thick soy sauce

2 tbsp rice wine

½ tsp sugar

1 tsp salt

Vietnamese coriander

cilantro

First, make sure the clams are clean.  Discard any open or broken clams.  Place them in cold water in the refrigerator and leave for about 20-30 minutes.  Then remove from the cold water allowing the dirt to remain on the bottom of the bowl.  Place them in a new bowl and cover with a damp towel.

While the clams soak, combine the ingredients for the stir fry sauce.  

In a hot wok or larger pan, add canola oil and stir fry garlic, ginger, and chilis.  When they become very fragrant, add the clams and toss to coat.  Pour in the sauce and gently shake clams to coat.  Cover and steam for about 10 minutes, or until all the clams have opened.  

Finished with a generous helping of the chopped herbs and some crusty bread!! 

In South Louisiana summer is upon us, and we tend to look for refreshing beverages.  Today's drink is a nice crisp gewurztraminer from Pacific Rim.  A grape that originates from Alsace,  gewurztraminer has a low acidity, and when trying to think of comparable flavors just imagine ginger and peach.  Pacific Rim is a winery from the Columbia Valley in Washington where this grape is now heavily marketed.  A rather sweet and summery wine, it paired up nicely with the clams.

Lemongrass Mackerel

I love roasting whole fish.  Super fresh fish on the bone with a simple sauce brings out amazing aromas and satiating goodness!!  

Whole fish with lemongrass and Thai chilies requires very little work but brings out wonderful flavors.   Mackerel is my personal favorite, and for this recipe, I was able to find some beautiful Indian mackerel which are usually about 10 inches long, but these were about 7 inches.  Very popular in Southeast Asian cuisine, the Indian mackerel has a rich flavor resulting from their diet of shrimp and fish larvae.  

Ca Uop Xa- Lemongrass Fish

2 Whole Fish (about 1-1 ½ pound fish)
2 tbsp canola oil
1/4 cup water

Marinade
2 pieces lemongrass minced-*

3 cloves garlic minced

2 Thai chili peppers minced-*

¼ tsp black pepper

2 tbsp fish sauce-*

1 tsp sugar

½ tsp turmeric-*

cilantro

Vietnamese coriander

Make sure the fish are cleaned and gutted with the fins cut off and put three slits in each side.  Mix the marinade ingredients and rub on fish.  Let them sit in the refrigerator for about 3-4 hours.   

In a hot skillet, add the canola oil and gently lay the fish in and let the skin crisp and pull away from the pan.  Gently place a spatula under the fish and release while lightly shaking the skillet.  Carefully flip the fish and cook through on the other side.  When fully cooked, remove fish to a plate and pour water into the pan to deglaze the seasonings.  Scrape up all the bits and reduce to a nice thickened consistency and pour over the fish.  A nice Vietnamese cabbage salad is refreshing as a side dish.

Today's tunes were a mix of 80's New Wave artists on Pandora!  Easy listening to the sounds of yesteryear.  Memories of my youth were carried through the airwaves including Depeche Mode, Simple Minds, the Cure, the Psychedelic Furs and many others.  Funny how tastes change, but we seem to go back to our old habits.  I went through a major metal phase and still love punk rock, but I find my music to just chill out and enjoy is that English 80's sound.  

Stewed Chicken Feet with Spring Onions and Exotic Mushrooms

Ahh, few things are more tasty than tendon!  Plus a sweet, spicy, zesty sauce!  How can this be bad?  Cooked until tender and finished with fresh herbs, chicken feet are among the more exotic and delicious appetizers in Asian cuisine.  

My first experience with chicken feet happened at a local Dim Sum restaurant, and they were stewed in a spicy, thick sauce.  I took a bite and gently removed the edible tissue from the small bones and discarded the bones.  I have been hooked ever since.  

Chicken feet are filled with small bones and delicious tendon and skin.  Throughout the world, the feet are a delicacy and can be grilled, fried, or boiled.  The Asian market sells boneless feet, which will make it a little easier to eat, but there are still a few small pieces of bone, so be careful.

Chan Ga Hap An Voi Xot Nam Hanh La-Stewed Chicken Feet with Exotic Mushrooms and Spring Onions

1lb. boneless chicken feet

1/3 cup soy sauce

1 tbsp minced ginger

2 spring onions sliced

2 cloves garlic minced

¼ cup canola oil

2 cups exotic mushrooms (enoki, beech, oyster, etc.)

1 tbsp sesame seeds

Vietnamese Coriander

Cilantro

Sauce

2 tbsp mirin

½ cup chicken stock

2 tsp light soy sauce

2 tsp oyster sauce

2 tsp nuoc mam

2 tsp sugar

½ tsp pepper

½ tsp salt

Make sure chicken feet are cleaned and blanche for about 25-30 minutes.  Remove them and run under cold water to chill and prevent discoloration.  Mix all the ingredients for the sauce.  Toss the feet with soy sauce, and let them marinate for a few minutes.  Heat oil in a wok or large pan, fry for about 5 minutes until they begin to turn golden brown.  Remove the feet to a side pan.   

Leaving a few tablespoons of oil in the wok, add the ginger, garlic, and onions.  Stir fry for a few minutes, and add the feet.  Toss everything gently and deglaze with the mixed sauce.  Let the feet and seasoning stew for about 10 minutes.  Add the mushrooms, and continue to cook until mushrooms and feet are done.  The sauce should thicken, and check for seasoning.  Finish with some torn herbs, sesame seeds and a side bowl of rice.  A few small bones might be in the feet, but they should be soft enough to eat, or just remove them and enjoy.  

"Do you remember rock n roll radio?"  Joey Ramone said these immortal words, and it might ring truer now than in 1980.  So I dug into the files and busted out some old R.E.M which included one of my favorites tunes "7 Chinese Brothers" from the Reckoning album.  College radio was a staple in the 80's and 90's, and the Athens quartet was a force.  Chicken feet and R.E.M., now that is an afternoon, and I loved it. 

The weather was slightly humid, and I was unsure of the direction of my alcoholic beverage.  Therefore, I decided to go to an old staple- the Pina Colada.  When in doubt, this frozen tropical drink seems to put a smile on my face.  Put 4oz. Coco Lopez, 4 oz. pineapple chunks with juice, 3 oz. Spiced Rum, and a few cups of ice into a blender and puree until you have the texture of a smoothie.  Add more of any of the above ingredients according to taste, but if you add more liquid, then you will need to add a few more ice cubes.  Pour into a tall glass and enjoy!!  

Nuoc Mam- Fish Sauce

"Mmm, delicious, what is that taste?"  Do you find yourself asking this question?  Of course you do! The taste you desire is called umami.  The fifth basic taste that is sometimes falsely referred to as salty is a more complex flavor also called glutamic acid or glutamate. It is stored in proteins, and most commonly consumed in cheese, soy sauce, seaweed, and fish sauce.  The classic combination of parmigiano reggiano and tomato is a great example of umami.  

Nuoc mam or nuoc cham (the dipping version of the same sauce) are served alongside the majority of Vietnamese dishes.  Feel free to adjust the citrus juices (try lemon or yuzu), add ginger, add more or less chili, or whatever you think would add a nice flavor.  From salads to fish to meat, this condiment elevates food to a wonderful level of heightened satisfaction. 

Nuoc Mam- Fish Sauce

½cup Fish Sauce-*

¼cup Water

2TBSP Rice Wine Vinegar 

¼ cupPalm Sugar (or to taste)-*

1or 2 Limes Juiced

3cloves Garlic minced

2Thai Chilis thinly sliced-*

In a small pot, bring water and sugar up to a medium hot temperature, and stir until it dissolves.   Let the mixture cool and add the rest of the ingredients. Adjust according to taste.