Red Snapper Fillet In Thymato Sauce

I bought a small pack of Arrowroot powder sometime ago but it's not been used as much as I planned. I used it in soups but haven't test it in stir-fries. My house helper bought me some nice and fresh Red Snapper fillets and large prawns last week from a fisherman, selling by the road side :-D She's really good at sourcing such produce and I'm really happy with her service :-P I even told her that I mentioned about her in my blog... she's so happy :-)

I decided to use the arrowroot for this recipe that used tomatoes before it's due date :-P I read that arrowroot is works very well with acidic liquid (example; tomatoes in this recipe or maybe pasta sauce?). It's neutral tasting it's the best among the starch thickeners besides surviving the freezer with no effects of odd taste or spongy. It also gives high gloss to your dishes ( I think it's fabulous with pie fillings!). One thing of caution though, arrowroot doesn't work well with milk based sauces as I found out when I use it to make ice cream when I ran out of cornstarch :-(

Here's a recipe that I wanted to share. You must be wondering what's this 'Thymato Sauce' :-P It's the combination of 'Thyme' and 'Tomato'. You see, when I upload my recipe and picts to food sites, they have this word/title limits to certain count. So, to shorten the process (actually, my laziness :-P), I decided to call the fish's sauce/gravy as 'Thymato'. I think it sounds better than 'Thymemato'. Hmmm... sounds like one of those weird science projects, huh? Well, If you can have 'Tamarillo', why not 'Thymato'? Hee heee heeee... :-P

Red Snapper Fillet In Thymato Sauce

Serves 2-4

300 g Red Snapper Fillet (or any white fish fillet) ~ skin on

400 g Tomato ~ skinned and seeded

2 pcs Lebanese Cucumbers

1 Tbl Fresh Thyme ~ fully packed/1 tsp dried Thyme

1 clove Garlic ~ minced

10 g Arrowroot Powder **

Some oil for shallow frying

For Fish Marinate:

2.5 g Salt (approx. ½ tsp)

3o ml Ginger Wine (I'd posted a recipe if you don't have ready-made wine)

Some Ground White Pepper to taste

For Seasoning:

60 ml Water

30 g Raw Sugar

2 g Salt (approx. ⅓ tsp)

20 ml Tomato Sauce (Tomato Ketchup)

10 ml Rice Vinegar

Thickener Glaze:

30 ml Water

12 g Arrowroot Powder**

* Unless stated otherwise all cup & spoon measurements are level.

** For this recipe you can use other starches as thickener or glaze like Cornstarch, Kudzu, Potato Starch, Tapioca or Water Caltrop Starch.

Method:

1. Rinse fish fillet and pat dry with kitchen paper. Cut into pieces (depends on the size of fillet, you can have about 3 or more portions). Mix gently the pieces with marinade for 10± minutes.

2. Slice the skinned and seeded tomatoes into wedges. Cut the cucumbers into quarters lengthwise and then dice coarsely. You can cut into rounds as well ~ as long as the cucumbers cook evenly.

3. Add the Kudzu powder to the pieces of fish and mix well (it's easier to mix with fingers).

4. Heat some oil in a deep pan. Fry the fish pieces on both sides until medium-well done (62.8°C/145°F degrees core temp). Dish out and set aside. Remove the used oil.

5. In the same pan, heat some oil. Stir-fry the minced garlic until fragrant. Add in tomato wedges. Stir for awhile. Add in the seasoning and fried fish pieces. Let it cook for few minutes.

6. Add in the diced cucumbers and fresh thyme. Gently mix the ingredients so that the fish pieces are not break apart.

7. Add in the thickener mixture and gently stir until it thickens. Dish out and serve.

Enjoy!

Fresh Thai Pineapple & Cucumber Salad

I love pineapples (Ananas comosus), a versatile fruit in which it's so sweeeeeeet and very fragrant as well! I like to use them not only in sweet desserts, drinks (what's Piña Colada without Pineapple!) or the local favourite like Pineapple Jam and Pineapple Tarts! It also gives extra tang (or a 'kick') of sweetness in savoury recipes like Pineapple Pajeri, Achar, Crab Curry, Salt Fish with Pineapple Curry, Sambals, Rojaks, Salad... The list is endless with such delicious fruit originated from southern part of Brazil and Paraguay. There are several types of pineapples hybrids that I love, available locally in Malaysia, mainly Moris (Gula Batu/Rock Sugar) Pineapple, Sarawak Pineapple, Honey Pineapple, Joesphine and Gandul Pineapple.

I remembered when I was little, I hate eating pineapples even though it's so delicious in my favourite Salt Fish & Pineapple Curry or Laksa. It's because of the dark brown 'eyes', bracts or spots which ever names it's known, caused my tongue to itch and hurt badly. My mom furiously scared when I ate pineapples with hands... :-D It's because the pineapple juice left blotches of marks on her vinyl flooring when dried... :-P Well, occasionally I still have the stings but I can handle it... with MucoAid :-P

Here's a fresh salad recipe that is very simple to make for a fuss-free hot Summer days gathering with family and friends over the BBQ... with cool and refreshing Piña Colada, of course!

Fresh Thai Pineapple & Cucumber Salad

Serves 2-4

¼ pc Fresh Pineapple ~ peeled, cored and dark brown 'eyes'/bracts removed*

( * I used only ¼ of 1 whole fresh pineapple)

2 nos Japanese Cucumbers (Kyuri) or 1 medium size cucumber

1 nos Red Onion ~ thinly sliced

1 bunch Watercress

1 Red Chilli ~ sliced thinly (optional)

Dressing:

3 Tbl Fresh Lime or Lemon juice

2 Tbl Soy Sauce

1 tsp Sugar

1 tsp Chilli Sauce

2 Tbl Fresh Mint ~ chopped (about 3-4 stalks)

Method:

1. Peel cucumbers and cut into halves lengthwise. With a small teaspoon, scoop out the seeds and cut into 1 cm pieces (you can leave the seeds on if you want, if you're using Japanese Cucumbers/Kyuri). Place it in a bowl.

2. Cut the pineapple also into 1 cm pieces and add to the cucumber.

3. Add in the sliced red onion and watercress. Mix well.

4. For the dressing; in another bowl, mix all ingredients with a whisk.

5. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss thoroughly. Serve in a salad bowl or individual plates. If you want extra spicy and hot, add some more sliced red chilli.

Note: To avoid the salad become watery, add the dressing only when you are about to serve. If you like, add some coarsely pounded toasted peanuts or any nuts of your choice.

Enjoy!

Jellyfish And Kyuri Salad

It had been long time since my last jellyfish meal :-P Yes, you read it right  j-e-l-l-y-f-i-s-h that floating wobbly, water filled animal with long stinging tentacles that spells out trouble for swimmers and fishermen alike. You can say that's bizarre but it's a delicacy and enjoyed by many people. As for me, I rather eat jellyfish anytime than turtles! 

Ok... I don't know which species of jellyfish I'm eating but I guessed it's edible and not endangered (?) species right? :-D This batch was given to me by my neighbour. I think I got the tentacles part. Almost all the whole jellyfish parts can be eaten as mentioned by foodie blogger Melting Wok.

Jellyfish And Kyuri (Japanese Cucumber) Salad

300 g Jellyfish (already prepared and cleaned by seller :-D)

1 pc Japanese Cucumber (kyuri)

1 stalk Spring Onions

3 tsp Rice Vinegar

3 tbl Sesame Oil

4 tsp Shoyu/Light Soya Sauce

1 tbl  Fish Sauce (Optional)

3 tbl  Sesame Seeds

4 tsp Sugar

Some water to blanch the jellyfish

Method

1. Wash jellyfish in fresh water. Drain and set aside.

2. In a pot, boil some water. When water boiled, pour the jellyfish into the hot boiling water. Blanch the jellyfish in few seconds (you will see that the amount will shrink in size) and quickly plunge it into cold water to stop the cooking. Drain the jellyfish.

3. When jellyfish is cold enough to handle, slice the jellyfish into smaller pieces. Set aside.

4. Wash the japanese cucumber: cut into halves lengthwise and remove the seeds. Slice them thinly. Set aside.

For the dressing

1. In a small pan, roast the sesame seeds without any oil until fragrant and golden yellow. Crush lightly the seeds a bit to release the oil. Set aside.

2. In a small bowl, mix the sugar, fish sauce, vinegar, shoyu until the sugar dissolves. Add in the sesame oil and sesame seeds. Stir the dressing well. Set aside until needed.

To assemble the salad; Mix the jellyfish and the japanese cucumber together. Pour in the dressing and mix well. Adjust the taste to your liking. Garnish with sliced spring onions. If you intend to serve the salad later, don't add the dressing too early or you will end up with watery salad. Few minutes before serving is better because you also want the jellyfish to absorb the dressing...

Variation: You can add on to your sushi or top it up on Donburi meals. You can also add some chopped fresh chillies or chilli flakes to give that extra 'kick' :-)

Jellyfish is one of sea turtles main food and that helps keeping the jellyfish in control but now with the dwindling of sea turtles population these jellyfish is back with vengeance! In countries that were badly hit with the surge of jellyfish population had cost lost of income to the fishermen. Only way to control this situation is to stop eating sea turtles (also their cousins) and their eggs or else we all end up eating jellyfish as food or the other way round!

Enjoy!