Braised Fish In Soy Sauce And Ginger

Oh my word, this was delicious!  I went to the vaults to haul out enough of the readies to afford some beautiful Western Australian barramundi (don't buy the Asian farmed stuff!).  I don't have a proper fish filleting knife, so I did my best with the knives I have.  And the kookaburras really appreciated the bits of skin with big lumps of fish clinging to them:=) 

This recipe is from Around the Table by Julia Busuttil Nishimura, an Australian cook of Maltese heritage, who is married to a Japanese chap.  She also spent time living in Italy, and speaks Italian.  Her book has a mixture of all these influences, using readily-available ingredients and simple techniques.  This dish was a winner!  

delicious broth for the fish

Serves 4:

ingredients:

120 mL/4 oz saké   see Notes

100 mL/3.4 oz dark soy sauce

3 Tbs mirin  (use biiig Tablespoons if using American spoons)

2 Tbs caster sugar

40g./1.4 oz fresh ginger, peeled and diced or shredded finely

80 mL/2.7 oz water

4 x 150g./5.3 oz skin-on, firm white fish fillets - I used barramundi but use whatever is good for you - i.e. a local, sustainable fish

To serve:

sesame oil

coriander/cilantro leaves

spring onions/scallions, finely sliced

a bit more fresh ginger, to sprinkle on top

Method:

Grab yourself a medium to large saucepan, and in go the saké, soy sauce, mirin, sugar, ginger, and water

Give it a good stir, then bring to a simmer over medium heat

Gently wiggle the fish into the saucepan, with the skin-side down

Put a piece of baking paper (or alfoil) directly (but loosely) onto the fish, and simmer for 8-9 minutes until almost opaque

Turn the fishy pieces over very gently, sans baking paper, for another 3-4 minutes till nicely cooked and to your liking

Now grab a deep serving dish (like a tureen), slip the fish into the bottom of said dish, then pour over the broth from the saucepan

On go the sesame oil, coriander leaves, spring onion, and ginger

Serve with rice and greens à la Julia, or whatever you fancy  (I used green beans)

Notes:

No saké?  Then use dry white wine, dry Sherry or Chinese rice wine 

Barramundi is also known as Asian Sea Bass or Giant Sea Perch

ingredients (partly) gathered

into the saucepan goes the broth makings

place baking paper or alfoil loosely over the fish

nearly time for dinner

ready for toppings

into the tureen

yay dinner!

the hungry kookaburra seeking fishy skin

I'm adding this photo in again, just because I love a kookaburra.  The females like to hang around our backyard, diving into the windows (and ruining the flyscreens).  They recognise me, and I am able to feed them raw meat from a fork.  They loved the barra skin with big chunks of flesh that I was not able to get off properly.  I will need to buy a proper fish knife one of these days :=) 

c. Sherry M.

Japanese-Style Seasoning AKA Shichimi Togarashi The Sherry Way

This is the Sherry version of this Japanese seasoning.  Am I going quite mad, talking about myself in the third person?  Yep, already down that path, my friends.  What's that The Cheshire Cat says?: 'We're all mad here', and 'You're entirely bonkers.'  Yep, I'm there.

I've been buying packets of this from my fave online herb store (called Herbie's) for yonks, but I decided to give it a go as I had a rather large packet of nori to use up!  Half a sheet down, nine and a half to go :=)  

Did I mention how much I love Alice in Wonderland?  I have a 1946 copy that was my mum's, then mine.  And they spell 'cannot' as 'ca'n't'!  Have you noticed how people spell 'can not' as two words these days?  What's with that, my friends?  Why make it harder to spell?  How it irks me! :=)  "That's because you're a writer!," said a very kind friend.     

a tasty seasoning for all sorts of dishes

This recipe is a mish-mash of one from The Daring Gourmet and another from Wandercooks, (but mostly from TDG).  It makes one wee jar of seasoning.

ingredients:

1-1.5 Tbs dried orange peel/powder (not sweetened) see Notes

half a sheet of yaki nori (toasted seaweed)

1-2 heaped Tbs chilli flakes (I used gochugaru) see Notes

1/2-2/3 tsp sea salt (optional)

1/2 tsp lemon myrtle powder (optional) see Notes

2 tsp white sesame seeds, toasted

2 tsp black sesame seeds, toasted

1 tsp szechuan peppers, toasted

1/2 tsp poppy seeds, toasted

1 tsp ground ginger

Method:

Toast your seeds, and break up/snip the nori into tiny, wee pieces!

Chuck the orange peel into a small food processor, and blitz/pulse  away till tiny (no need to blitz if you have dried orange powder)

Then add all the other ingredients and blitz/pulse some more, till you have a texture that you're happy with - mine was fairly fine

Tip/pour the mixture into a small jar, and sprinkle lavishly on anything and everything - omelettes, tuna sandwiches, fried rice etc etc

Notes:

I could only buy dried orange slices, so I broke off the peel and blitzed it myself till I had tiny pieces

Some recipes suggest using 2 Tbs of chilli flakes; I like mine a bit milder, but go for it if you are a chilli fiend

I toasted the seeds in a small, dry skillet for a few minutes till fragrant, and I bashed the szechuan peppers in my Jamie Oliver thingy/flavour shaker before toasting.  Oh yes, and I put the poppy seeds into the skillet last, after I'd toasted the other seeds for a couple of minutes; they are smaller and will burn more readily

Lemon myrtle is endemic to Queensland so you may not be able to get it where you are! so just leave it out

 

ingredients gathered

(Dried orange slices and szechuan peppers from our mate Lucy's Providore Store Mumbleberry in our local village)

snip off the orange peel

and snip up the nori into small pieces

zap the orange peel and nori together

toast your seeds

and shake your goodies in your Jamie Oliver shaker (not necessary but fun!)

blitz everything up, and tip into a small jar

and here she be!

sprinkled on my Corn Thins with tuna, boiled egg and kewpie

'we're all mad here!'

szechuan peppers and orange slices

Japanese Chicken Meatballs AKA Tsukune

There's a wonderful Japanese yakitori bar/restaurant not too far from us, which cooks up splendid chicken dishes.  We love their tsukune, but oddly I had never thought to make it myself - until I found this recipe in a Taste magazine recently.  It is simple and so delicious.  As regular readers may be aware, I have a thing about Japanese foods and ceramics, and homewares ...  Konnichi wa, my friends.  See what eighteen months of university Japanese language will do for you? :=)

I guess you could say this is a bit of a cheat's dish as there are some frozen components.  But still delicious for all that.  As an aside, I just read that tsukune is a generic term for any Japanese meatball, but that chicken is the most popular.  Yay to that!  But I do feel a bit guilty when going to the restaurant, realising how many chickens died for our dinners.  Sorry, chickens! :=(  

tsukune sizzling in a sauce of mirin and soy

Serves 4: (I made 17 balls!)

ingredients:

For the Tsukune:

500g./1.1 lb chicken mince

25g./½ cup panko breadcrumbs

2 spring onions/green shallots/scallions/green onions, finely sliced

2 tsp fresh ginger, finely grated or chopped

1 egg, lightly beaten

2.5 Tbs soy sauce

4 tsp wasabi paste - yes, really!

2 Tbs veg. oil (I used EV olive oil, 'cos I'm a rebel)

60 mL/¼ cup mirin or mirin seasoning

2 tsp mixed sesame seeds, toasted (but I forgot to toast 'em)

125g./½ cup Kewpie mayo - yes, it has to be Kewpie!

For the salad:

400g./14 oz baby potatoes, steamed or microwaved till tender

1/2 cup frozen veg. (I like a mix of corn, capsicum and peas), thawed in boiling water for five+ minutes

2 spring onions, finely chopped

2 radishes, finely chopped

1-2 Tbs fresh chives, snipped

1-2 Tbs lightly-dried parsley (or fresh, snipped)

2 Tbs sesame seeds

freshly ground black pepper

For the salad dressing:

2 Tbs Kewpie mayo

1 tsp wasabi paste

To serve:

1 packet (400g./14 oz) frozen edamame, boiled and podded

Method:

Whack on some plastic gloves (or with very clean hands) gently mix together the chicken, panko, spring onions, ginger, egg, 2 tsp of the soy sauce and 2 tsp of the wasabi in a medium mixing bowl

Grab tablespoons of the mix, and roll into balls, then whack 'em into the fridge on a tray for 20-30 minutes to firm up

You can then simply fry these in the heated veg. oil over medium heat for 6 minutes before adding the mirin and soy sauce - or do what I did - bake them first at 190C/375F for 10 minutes, which makes the frying quicker and easier ('cos I hate frying, my friends)

So, Mr P. heated the oil in a grill pan, then plopped in the semi-baked meatballs for 3 minutes

We then added the mirin and the rest of the soy sauce to the pan, and Mr P. cooked the balls for another 3 minutes 

And ... sprinkle on the sesame seeds

Mix the Kewpie mayo and the rest of the wasabi in a small bowl, and serve with the tsukune (which you serve with the salad and edamame)

Throw all the salad ingredients into a serving bowl, mix the salad dressing together, spoon onto the salad and give it a gentle stir to coat all the ingredients

Notes:

Just in case it's not clear - if frying them, you cook for 6 minutes, then add the mirin and soy sauce, and fry for another 3 mins.  If baking and frying, bake for 10, then fry for 3 mins., add the seasonings and fry for another 3 mins.

ingredients gathered

tsukune ingredients ready for rolling

ready for baking at 190C/375F for 10 mins.

out of the oven after the 10 mins.

into the frypan with the seasoning

gloriously green edamame

potato-ish salad :-)

ready to serve and eat

Yay!  Dinner is served

© Sherry M.

Japanese Salmon Salad - Sorta/Kinda ... With DIY Pickled Ginger

I am in a Japanese kind of mood lately; well, probably for the past year or so.  I keep buying stuff at the Japanese supermarket down the road; bottles and packets of mysterious stuff, with unreadable (to me) labels:-)  But it makes me laugh, as I really enjoy the mystery.  I still have an anonymous bottle in the pantry, unopened and undeciphered, waiting till the day I open it ...  

And I've converted Mr P. into a Kewpie sriracha mayo fiend, too.  The new bottle he bought the other day almost exploded when he opened it!  It erupted like Mr. Vesuvius; and I just read that sriracha chilli sauce bottles have been recalled due to lactic acid fermenting in the bottles and causing eruptions when opened.  They didn't mention mayo, but clearly that is a problem too:-)  

delicious and healthy!

Well, on with the recipe.  I had a couple of photos of salads with Japanese-type ingredients lurking on my camera roll, so I made up my own hodgepodge, and here it is!  If you're going to make your own pickled ginger, as I did, start this recipe one day ahead of eating it.


(This recipe gives 4 polite, main serves)


ingredients:


500g. (about 1 pound) salmon fillets, skin on

400g. (14 oz) frozen edamame in their pods (young soybeans)

Baby Gem lettuce, or greens of your choice, leaves separated

half a red capsicum, sliced thinly or chopped into small chunks

half a Continental cucumber, cut into ribbons (use a veg. peeler)

1 avocado, cut into chunks or slices

1-2 tbs black (or white) sesame seeds

1-2 spring onions, finely sliced (optional)

1 big handful crunchy fried noodles (bought at the supermarket)

1-2 tsp white sesame seeds

1-2 tbs pickled ginger, finely chopped

2 tbs pickled Asian carrot (optional)

a big handful of toasted cashews/peanuts or nuts of your choice

75 mLs (2.5 oz) golden sesame (kingoma) dressing


Method:


(Recipe for pickled ginger from Taste.com.au)

If making the pickled ginger the day before: 

Peel 125g. (4-ish oz) of fresh ginger root; slice it as thinly as you can

Sprinkle 1 tsp sea salt over it, stir well, and set aside in a small bowl for at least 30 minutes

Then give it a good squeeze with your hands to get the excess liquid out, and place in a small, very clean jar

Now you add 60 mLs (1/4 cup) water and 60 mLs (1/4 cup) rice wine vinegar, and 55g. (1/4 cup) caster sugar to a small saucepan

Stir over a medium heat till the sugar dissolves, and bring to the boil on high heat

Pour this mixture over the ginger; let it cool for 5 minutes, then seal and put in the fridge till the next day

******************************************************


If using the pickled carrots, cut them into julienne strips, or grate coarsely, or use a veg. peeler to get thin strips


Toss the carrot in a well-whisked mix of rice wine vinegar, caster sugar, sesame oil and salt, and leave for at least an hour to marinate


Bake your salmon wrapped in tin foil @ 185C, for about 15-20 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fillets - you want it beautifully tender and moist, not cardboard, my friends

Let it cool, then pull the flesh off the skin with tongs

While the fish is baking, boil the edamame for about 5 minutes, let them cool, then push the gorgeous green globules from their pods

Toss the avocado chunks/slices with the black sesame seeds

Grab a big salad bowl, and throw everything in, with glee!

Give it a toss, and serve, with some crusty bread or Japanese soft salad rice crackers (my fave)



Notes:


Use zucchini instead of cucumber if you prefer

Chop the nuts, or leave them whole - your choice

You could add some seaweed here, or furikake seasoning

I basically did all the 'cooking' bits of this recipe in the morning of the day we ate it for dinner, with the ginger done the day before

This can be gluten-free if you leave out the crunchy fried noodles or use some other kind of non-wheat noodle

peeled and sliced ginger

in the syrupy brine ready for overnight marinating

tender and moist after 20 mins. baking at 185C

pull apart the lettuce

healthy, fishy, golden sesame deliciousness!

       artwork © Sherry's Pickings

Iron Pan Japanese Kitchen - Review

I love Japanese food and I adore sushi, but don't expect to combine those 2 loves here at Iron Pan.  They do curries, and salads and fried chicken but not sushi.  Just so we're all clear:)  No, no, hold your horses.  Update: as of 11 May, they now make sushi!  

cute sign

Mr P. and I set off for a quick lunch at this local restaurant recently.  It is a casual space, in a tiny shopping precinct, but with a large outdoor dining area.  The young lady serving was very charming and helpful.  Service was prompt and pleasant.  Mr P. chose Mapo Tofu, a milder, Japanese version of a Szechuan dish which is originally very hot and spicy.  This has lots of tofu and vegetables in a lightly spicy sauce.
            

Mapo Tofu $14

Hubby enjoyed this vegetarian dish.  The green beans were crunchy, just the way we both like them.  He loved the sauce on the tofu; the corn was fresh and sweet, the mushrooms flavoursome, and the pumpkin was deliciously sweet and roasted.  I know this dish looks a bit strange and quirky, but Mr P. was fond of it.  Kind of an odd mix to go with tofu, but everything tasted fine.  

chicken karaage salad $12

I chose the chicken karaage salad, served with corn, tomato, leaves, cucumber and red onion.  Tasty and fresh, you could probably call it healthy:=)  Here we have succulent, battered pieces of fried chicken, served on a fresh salad, including that sweet, fresh corn.  This is great value, and perfect for a light lunch.

beer battered chips $7

The chips were crispy on the outside, and soft on the inside.  You can't go wrong when ordering these.  They were also extraordinarily long!  It almost made us laugh, thinking of those incredibly long potatoes growing somewhere.  So all up, a tasty, cheap and cheerful lunch.  But wait, there's more...


Feeling lazy one night, we decided to get the ubiquitous Uber Eats to bring us takeaway from Iron Pan.  (How many Uber Eats riders can there be in one city on a given night? Answer: many.)  Not all the menu is available for delivery but you can get fried chicken and burgers and salad and desserts, which we did:=)

salad $5/beer battered chips $7

Nice fresh salad, and you know the chips are good. 

crispy chicken karaage burger $18/roast veg. curry $14  

Not much to say here.  The burger was fine, though why the soft buns?  Man, I like real buns, hard, manly buns...Ooh ooh never mind all that.  Here we have lettuce, cheese, tomato, fried chicken on a bun - yay!  Perhaps some pickles or salad would have been a nice addition though.  Hubby liked his mild curry, and the odd boiled egg.  There was rather a lot of rice, compared to sauce...


 

tiramisu $7/chocolate fondant $7

I know, not very Japanese but delicious.  Soft and creamy tiramisu; chocolatey, gooey fondant.  Yum.


And then there was dinner - a few weeks later, we went out for a mid-week meal à deux.  We started with chicken gyoza, which were fine.  You can't go past a cute little dumpling, dipped in soy sauce.  But we had to fight over the last one.  I wish servings were made to suit the table.  Anyways, a minor gripe.
  

chicken gyoza $10

     

I chose the prawn omelette rice for my main.  This was a very filling meal, and I asked to take home a doggie bag, which they happily supplied.  In fact, the waitress said to me she had been very worried that I hadn't liked it!  Very sweet of her.

prawn omelette rice $18

This was filling and tasty.  The thin omelette surrounds a large amount of rice, in a cute package.  I enjoyed the roast pumpkin, and the (slightly too) crunchy green beans.  The fresh corn was a sweet pop in the mouth.  My doggie bag gave me a great lunch the next day.  

teri burger $15

Mr P. was a little disappointed with his burger.  He felt it needed something extra, rather than just lettuce and cheese.  He liked the tangy, Asian-inspired sauce on the pattie, but would have liked tomato or pickles, or something to give it a bit more pizazz.  The meat pattie was excellent; the burger not too sweet (as they often tend to be these days).  The whole dish was very plain, as you can see.  Chips were great, he said; crispy outside and soft inside.

ginger beer $4.50 for him/prosecco $10 for moi

     
All up, we had a tasty, casual dinner, at a great price.  What Iron Pan lacks in ambience, it makes up for with a great value, tasty meal.  And good service.  (Would love to see a bit of Japanese decoration here.  Or maybe that's too kitsch?)  Nevertheless, we will be back.

heaps of info in this one little pic:)

a lunchtime shot of the terrace 

Ph: 07 3856 5656
Shop 6/100 Days Rd., Grange