Salmon bulgogi

I based this dish on a recipe I found in Bon Appetit. DH is not a big fan of salmon, but I was hoping that by giving it an Asian twist, he would warm up to this fish which is as ubiquitous here in Toronto as tilapia is in Manila!

4 pcs. skinless salmon fillet
1 tsp chopped garlic
1 tsp. grated ginger
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tbsp. Chinese rice wine
2 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. sesame oil
1/4 tsp. chili garlic sauce

1. Mix all ingredients (except for the salmon, of course!) in a small food processor to make a marinade.
2. Marinate salmon for about 5-10 minutes.
3. Remove salmon from marinade and place in a baking dish.
4. Bake in 500 oven for about 5-7 minutes then switch oven to broil and broil for about 3-5 minutes.
5. Meanwhile reduce the marinade until it's thick and syrupy. This will be your glaze.
6. When the salmon is done, place on a plate and pour about a tablespoon of glaze.
7. Serve with whatever sides your heart desires. I did Parisienne potatoes and steamed Chinese broccoli.

All in all, this dinner was a success! DH said he enjoyed it much more than he thought he would. The two boys loved it. This is definitely a make-again dish. Healthy, yummy, and above all easy-peasy!

Roasted Branzino

Roasted branzino with salsa verde and fried capers served with garlic broccolini and roasted heirloom tomatoes with balsamic reduction:


It seems like branzino, or Mediterranean seabass/European seabass, is the new "it" fish. Every restaurant I go to seems to have some version of this fish roasted, salt-crusted, grilled, etc, etc. So tonight, instead of paying $30 for one dish, I went to my local fish-monger, bought 3 pieces of branzino ( each about 1.25 lbs) and fed 3 people for the price of one restaurant dish :-)

BRANZINO (we had 3, one for me, one for DH and one for son #2...son #1 is away)
1. Have your fish-monger scale, gut and clean the fish. Mine even removed the backbone. I love my fish-monger...
2. Pat fish dry and season generously with salt and pepper.
3. Stuff the fish with 2 slices of lemon, 2-3 sprigs of parsley, and 2-3 sprigs of thyme.
4. Lay the fish on a parchment-lined baking sheet and pour about 2 tbsp. of olive oil on each fish.
5. Bake the fish in a 450 oven for 8 minutes.
6. Turn the oven to broil and cook another 8 minutes more until the skin is blistered.

SALSA VERDE
1. In a food processor, place 1 cup parsley, 1/4 cup olive oil, zest of one lemon, juice of 1/2 lemon, and 1 tsp. salt.
2 Pulse until smooth.

FRIED CAPERS
1. Take 2-3 heaping teaspoons of capers from the jar.
2. Squeeze as much moisture out with paper towels.
3. Pan fry in a bit of oil until slightly brown.
4. Drain well.

ROASTED TOMATOES
1. Cut tomatoes in half.
2. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Drizzle with olive oil.
4. When you put the oven to broil (as you cook the fish), put the tomatoes in as well. The tomatoes will be done when the fish is done.
5. Meanwhile, reduce about 1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar until syrupy. Pour over tomatoes before serving.

GARLIC BROCCOLINI
1. Saute 2 tsp. of garlic in oil.
2. Add broccolini.
3. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Cook until wilted.

This dish was excellent! The fish was extremely fresh...the mild, sweet flesh redolent with the aroma of herbs and citrus. Yum!

Halibut and Pancetta in Lemon-Caper Sauce

I rarely follow a recipe to the letter but this was one that sounded so good that I felt that I could use it as is. Tyler Florence is one of my favorite Food Network hosts. His food is simple, flavorful and unapologetically straight-forward. I've tried many of his recipes and they've always come out well. The halibut I bought for dinner tonight was NOT cheap ($22.99/lb!) so I definitely did not want to mess it up. Tyler's recipes (naks, first name basis) are always easy to follow and extremely doable so I was optimistic things would go well.

4 halibut fillets (about 200-250g each) -- I actually used 5 since there were 5 of us
1 cup flour
salt
pepper
4 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. butter
1 cup white wine
juice from one lemon
4 tbsp. chopped parsley
4 tsp. drained capers
8 slices pancetta, cut into strips

1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Mix salt, pepper and flour in a shallow bowl.
3. Dredge halibut fillets in seasoned flour.
4. In an oven-proof skillet (I used enameled cast iron), heat 2 tbsp of olive oil and brown the fish skin side up for 2-3 minutes.
5. Flip fish over and add pancetta pieces.
6. Place skillet in oven and cook for 10 minutes.
7. Remove fish and pancetta from pan, add butter and deglaze pan with white wine.
8. Add lemon juice, capers and parsley. Adjust seasoning.
9. Reduce sauce to about half.
10. To serve, place pancetta pieces on top of fish and pour a few tablespoons of sauce on top. Garnish with fresh parsley.

I served the fish on top of some cauliflower puree. On the side we had haricots verts in brown butter and rosemary-garlic potatoes. I thought the dinner was a success. Everyone at the table seemed to really like to food! Thanks Tyler!

Capelin fish

In Manila, one of regular haunts was a Japanese resto in Makati called Izakaya Kikufuji. They had a dish called shishamo -- grilled whole female smelts bursting with roe. It wasn't exactly a cheap dish (I think it was P200 for 5 0r 6 pieces) so having it was a treat.

Apparently, the smelt or capelin fish is caught off the shores of the Canadian east coast. And so here in TO, they are pretty easy to find. I buy the capelin fish in the asian grocery and fry them up. Frying makes the fish delectably crunchy and allows you to eat the entire thing. Head, fins, tail and all. All the fried fish needs is a sprinkling of kosher salt and a tomato-onion-balsamic vinegar salad on the side...