Posts tagged soy sauce

Sticky Salmon-Pineapple Kebabs, Thai black rice salad

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Sticky Salmon-Pineapple Kebabs, Thai black rice salad

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‘m always surprised at the amount of people who are surprised at the flavour that rice can have on its own without additional added flavours. If you pick the right rice that is. If you’re used to the same old white or even brown rice then venture out! I use red French Camargue rice as my staple now due to its wonderful nutty flavour but after stumbling over some Thai black rice recently which fell into my innocent shopping basket I had a salad on the mind. A dark and nutty flavour goes wonderfully with Thai flavours and fruits. Try mango and prawns, basil and coriander (see here) which was my initial intention. However as a nod to the gorgeous weather this weekend a barbeque inspired kebab was required. Seeing as my garden-lacking London flat could not supply my bbq needs, a sticky, sweet and if you cook the salmon well, oh so tender kebab a top this fresh and herby Thai rice salad suited Sunday evening down to the ground. Cold beer to accompany and the BAFTAS.

Serves 2 (make 4 skewers)

  • 2 salmon fillets, cut into 2cm chunks
  • 1 fresh pineapple, cubed into 2cm chunks
  • Broccoli florets (about 6-8)
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 large tsp sesame oil
  • 1 1/2 tsp runny honey
  • Small knob ginger, grated
  • 4 oz Thai black rice
  • 4 spring onions, sliced
  • 50g desiccated coconut
  • Bunch coriander, chopped (save some for garnish)
  • 2 sheets nori seaweed, cut into small 1 cm wide pieces or strips (optional)
  • 1 lime
  • 4 skewers (soaked in water for 20 minutes)
  1. Combine the soy sauce, sesame, honey and ginger in a bowl and mix well
  2. Marinade the salmon chunks, broccoli florets and pineapple chunks in this mixture for 1 hour in the fridge.
  3. After 1 hour, prepare your skewers. Feed alternating salmon and pineapple and broccoli chunks onto each. Set aside on a line baking tray and chill. Preheat the oven to 180°C.Jess - Salmon Asian KebabsJess - Salmon Asian Kebabs2
  4. Meanwhile make the rice salad. Simmer the rice for around 25 minutes until just cooked with a little bite.
  5. While this is cooking toasted the coconut in a dry frying pan until just bringing to turn golden. Watch it as it catches easily. When fragrant, remove and add to a bowl.
  6. Combine with the chopped spring onions, coriander and the chopped nori sheets.
  7. When the rice is ready, drain well. Immediately add the bowl of coconut and herbs and squeeze in the juice of the lime. Place a lid on top and keep warm.
  8. Remove the salmon skewers from the fridge and heat a frying pan until hot and add a tsp of oil.
  9. Sear the skewers on both sides to get a lovely caramelised effect all over. Add the rest of the marinade to the pan (it will sizzle) and then immediately transfer the skewers and the pan juices to the baking tray. Pop in the oven for 5 minutes to finish the cooking.
  10. Meanwhile, plate up the rice in warm serving dishes. After 5 minutes check the salmon is tender and cooked through but just pink and remove from the oven. Top your Thai rice salad with the kebabs and any extra chopped coriander to garnish.

Jess - Salmon and Thai rice2

Asian Sea Bream and Raw Courgette Noodles

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Asian Sea Bream and Raw Courgette Noodles

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 very simple super this week. Thrown together in a matter of minutes…well about 20. A healthy way to kick of December before the turkey, chocolate and Christmas treats infiltrate the diet. Fresh flavours and your can barely call this cooking…

Serves 2

  • 2 sea bream fillets
  • 1 tbsp good quality, dark soy sauce
  • 2 small courgettes
  • Handful salted peanuts
  • 1/2 red chilli
  • Bunch chopped coriander
  • 1 large lime
  • 4 0z brown rice
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  1. Simmer the rice for about 10-15 minutes until tender. Drain and drizzle with the sesame oil and keep warm
  2. Use a julienne chopper to finely slice the courgette into noodle strips. Mix with the peanuts, coriander and chilli and season. Squeeze over the juice from the lime.
  3. Heat a frying pan until hot. Season the fillets and fry, skin side down for about 2-3 minutes until the skin is really crispy.
  4. Turn the fish to the flesh side for the final 30 seconds of cooking. Remove from the pan and pat of any excess oil with paper towel.
  5. Serve the rice, courgette and fish, drizzled with a little soy sauce

Jess - Seabream2

 

Sticky Soy Chicken with Baby Chilli Courgettes

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Sticky Soy Chicken with Baby Chilli Courgettes

 

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A sticky ‘packs-a-punch’ glaze for some succulent chicken pieces courtesy of Bill Granger. I’ve managed to make it through my growing culinary life without (shamefully) having had Bill’s influence on any of my dishes? It could be his Australian roots that have kept his foodie inspiration at bay or perhaps (more likely) the Jamie Oliver shaped blinkers strapped to my head that had maintained my tunnel vision since discovering cooking? Who knows? However, with ‘Granger’s & Co’ round the corner from work and a growing love for Asian/Fusion cooking I have been sampling some of his culinary delights from Bills Asian Cookbook which is where this chicken marinade comes in. Baby courgettes courtesy of Portobello Market but normal ones work fine too!

Serves 2

Roasted Courgettes

  • 6 baby courgettes
  • 1 small red chilli, finely chopped
  • Bunch coriander, finely chopped
  • Juice ½ lime

Chicken

  • 4 chicken thighs/chicken pieces
  • 30ml dark soy sauce
  • 25ml Fish sauce
  • 55g brown sugar
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • Light Olive oil

To Serve: Coconut rice (I made mine with red Camargue rice here)

  1. Preheat the oven to 190°C. Heat a frying pan until hot with a little oil and brown the chicken all over until golden. Transfer to a baking dish and bake for about 15 minutes until cooked through.
  2. At the same time, roast the courgettes. Slice in half if using baby courgettes or into chunks if using large ones. Drizzle with oil and place in a roasting tray. Roast with the chicken for about 20 minutes. This can keep roasting until tender while you finish the chicken on the hob. (The courgettes also work amazingly grilled or charred on a griddle pan or BBQ)
  3. To finish the chicken, heat a little oil in a saucepan and fry the garlic lightly. Add the cooked chicken and the soy sauce and cover with a lid. Leave to simmer on a low heat for about 6-7 minutes making sure the pan doesn’t cook dry.
  4. Turn up the heat and add the sugar and fish sauce and stir to dissolve and combine. Heat for just a few minutes until the sauce goes syrupy and glazes the chicken.image
  5. Remove the courgettes from the oven and toss with the chopped coriander and red chilli. Squeeze over a little lime juice.
  6. Serve the chicken on creamy coconut rice with the chilli courgettes and coated liberally in any excess glaze.

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Glazed Salmon, Asian Greens, Sesame Cucumber

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Glazed Salmon, Asian Greens, Sesame Cucumber

 

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I can’t believe my birthday has come and gone yet again. With another year under my ageing belt it only seemed natural to add another cookbook to my ‘library’. It really is expanding at such a rate that I may have to develop some sort of filing system soon. I currently have them stored in a few tame and humble 6 bottle old wooden wine cases but with each eager book spilling out over the edge, oozing its glossy (some more oil splattered) pictures in front of me it may be time to move out to a magnum case…?

To cut a long story short, my birthday granted me with Bill Granger’s Everyday Asian cookbook. I love this quick and flavourful cooking  but with more of a traditional palate I needed a helping hand and a point in the right direction or orientation should I say. East. And to help me along the way not only did I get this vibrant drool-worthy book that I literally want to cook every recipe of (rare I assure you) I also received a few of Bill’s Asian ‘Pantry staples’ to add to my other collection (again, yet to have its own filing system) and some beautiful serving bowls. After all presentation can be half the battle!

NOTE: for those into this style of food I really recommend Bill’s book. There may be some alien ingredients but nothing a quick trip down the ethnic aisle of Tesco can’t solve. A simply written, helpful book. And you really will want to cook everything…there just aren’t enough mealtimes in the day or days in the week unless I start replacing my morning tea with miso soup? Unlikely.

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Glazed Salmon

Serves 4

  • 4 tbsp mirin
  • 4tbsp soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp brown soft sugar
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 4 salmon fillets
  1. Combine all the marinade ingredients together in a shallow bowl with the salmon fillets and pop in the fridge for 5-10 minutes.
  2. Preheat your grill or BBQ. Grill for about 7minutes or so until charred on the outside but still pink and very most in the middle. Don’t be tempted to cook too long. The residual heat will carry on cooking it once removed from the grill and it is better served a little pink in the middle.
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Sesame Cucumber

  • 1 tbsp mirin
  • 1 tbsp ride vinegar
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • 1 cucumber
  1. Use a mandolin/speed peeler to peel thin strips of cucumber into a bowl.
  2. Combine the dressing ingredients and drizzle over the cucumber

Broccoli

  • 1 head broccoli, cut into florets
  • 1 red chilli, sliced finely
  • 1 shallot, chopped
  • 1 garlic clove, sliced finely
  1. Boil your broccoli for a matter of minutes until still al dente and bright green. Drain and set aside.
  2. Heat a thin layer of oil in a frying pan until hot. Flash fry your chilli and shallots until crispy. Add the garlic slices at the end as they will burn easily and fry until golden and crispy. Scoop out from the oil and drain and allow to crisp.
  3. Serve the broccoli, warm and scattered with the crispy garnish and a little drizzle of the infused oil

imageBeautiful serving dish courtesy of my sister and the Portobello markets

Fish, Asian Noodles, Crispy Ginger

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Fish, Asian Noodles, Crispy Ginger

I adore this Asian-flavoured dressing! Its originally from ‘Jamie At Home’ (with a little adaptation) to dress his winter roast squash and duck salad which I must admit is one of my foodie downfalls. I just cannot CANNOT resist seconds, thirds and usually fourths. Much of its moreish teasing comes from this powerful killer dressing. Here I used it to coat some warm and obligingly absorbant noodles, mixed with some crunchy peanuts for texture and topped with a hearty piece of moist fish and crispy ginger strips. Shamefully I devoured mine with a fork. However- after a recent outing for a sushi lunch, I must admit my chop stick skills are progressing. Slowly.

Serves 2

Dressing

  • 1-2 large limes
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tsp brown sugar
  • 1 red chilli, finely chopped
  • 1 garlic clove, grated/finely crushed
  • Bunch coriander
  • 2 spring onions
  • Large knob of ginger

Fish and noodles

  • 2 seabass fillets (or anything white fish e.g. seabream, cod, haddock)
  • 2 dried noodles nests/ rice noodles
  • 6 raw king prawns
  • Handful of mange tout
  • Handful roasted salted peanuts
  • Knob ginger
  • Sunflower oil for frying
  1. Start with the ginger so it has time to dry out as much as possible before frying. Finely slice the ginger into thin strips or matchsticks. Dry out between two sheets of kitchen roll and set aside.
  2. Make the dressing. Squeeze the lime juice and zest of 1 lime into a jam jar. Add just under the same amount of extra virgin olive oil. Add the sesame oil, soy, sugar, chilli and garlic. Grate in the ginger and finely chop the green tops of the spring onions and add these. Add a small handful of chopped coriander leaves and then place the lid on the jar and shake to mix. Adjust the taste to your liking, adding more soy for seasoning and more lime for that kick.
  3. Chop the remaining spring onions and coriander and set aside in a bowl with the peanuts to garnish later.
  4. For the crispy ginger, heat a shallow layer of sunflower oil in a pan. Shallow fry the ginger for about 30 seconds or so until golden brown. Spoon out onto kitchen to drain and season with salt. Leave aside to crisp.
  5. Bring a saucepan of light stock to the simmer and get a frying pan over a highish heat. Simmer and cook the noodles for about 5 minutes throwing in your mange tout towards the end.
  6. Meanwhile, cook your seasoned sea bass fillets, skin side down, for about 3 minutes until a crispy skin forms. Turn for the remaining minute to cook through and add the prawns and cook, for a matter of a minute, until pink.
  7. Once the noodle are cooked drain them quickly while retaining a little of the starchy cooking water and return to the pan. Add the dressing and mix until it is coated and absorbed.
  8. Add a handful of the coriander, peanut and spring onion mix, saving a handful for the top.
  9. Spoon the noodles into large bowls, top with the fish and prawns. Scatter with the remaining peanuts, coriander and spring onion garnish and top with the crispy ginger.

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Asian Salmon and Coconut Rice

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Asian Salmon and Coconut Rice

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I’ve cooked this recipe far too many times in the past couple of weeks. With revision STILL on the go it is a fresh but really satisfying meal which is also a hopeless attempt at consuming some more oily fish to fuel my brain! I’ve been unhelpfully vague in the method as all depends on the rice, coconut milk and salmon you use which will vary the cooking time and the quantities a little. The timings will vary but use your instincts and aim for a crispy skinned dark soy salmon that is moist and just cooked with a creamy coconut rice. You may not get the timings perfect on the first shot but I guarantee you’ll make it again to get it right!

Serves 2

  • 1 can coconut milk
  • 4 oz brown/wild rice
  • 2 salmon fillets
  • 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • 1 ½ tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp runny honey
  • 2cm grated ginger
  • 1 lime, zest and wedges for serving
  • Scattering of sesame seeds
  1. Mix the soy, oils, ginger and honey together and leave the salmon to marinade in the mix for at least 1 hour in the fridge.
  2. Bring the coconut milk to the boil with a small cup of hot water and simmer the rice gently for about 20-25 minutes until cooked. The coconut milk you use in terms of thickness will vary so top up with hot water if it starts to look dry or if it is a thick variety, dilute down. What you’re aiming for is for the rice to cook in the time that it takes the coconut milk to reduce so you should end up with a creamy rice. If it is still looking drowned towards the end of cooking, turn the heat up and simmer more strongly. I like to use brown rice for its nutty flavour and texture.
  3. Once cooked, stir in the grated zest of the lime and keep warm.
  4. While the rice is cooking, preheat your grill to high and (skin side up) grill your salmon for about 5 minutes depending on thickness, until just cooked and moist with a dark soy crisp skin.
  5. Simmer the remaining marinade in a saucepan to warm and thicken.
  6. Serve your salmon on top of your coconut rice drizzled with a little of the warm marinade. Scatter with a handful of sesame seeds and a wedge of lime for squeezing. Serve with steamed broccoli.

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