Seafood curry

 

OK definitely not the best pic but this was delicious. Only the very gourmet prawns (frankly they were more like mini-lobsters) were lost in it, so next time would do purely with cheap white fish. Tamarind, coconut, lime, lots of ginger, and sweet potato for the carb, within the curry. Plus yellow curry paste. Another stellar dish from the Bunster. 

Ghalieh Mahi (Persian Fish Stew)

(Again, recipe is straight from Cooking and Cooking but pic is mine.)

400 g fish fillets

200 g fresh coriander, finely chopped

3 tablespoons dried fenugreek

1 medium onion, finely chopped

10 garlic cloves, minced

100 g tamarind pulp or tamr hendi (you can find in Iranian stores)

1 teaspoon turmeric powder

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

canola oil

1/2 teaspoon red pepper (more or less depends on your taste)

salt to taste

Soak the dried fenugreek in 3 tablespoons water for 15-20 minutes or until all liquid is absorbed. Set aside.

Meanwhile, wash the fish fillets and pat dry. Season both sides with salt and pepper. In a frying pan, heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium heat. Lightly sauté the tilapia pieces on all sides, about 2 minutes per side. Place them on a paper towel to absorb the extra oil. Set aside.

Heat 3 tablespoons canola oil in a pot over medium heat. Add the chopped onions and saute until softened, about 8-10 minutes. Add the garlic and turmeric powder; saute for 1 minute. Add the coriander and fenugreek to the pot. Saute for about 8 minutes over medium heat or until herbs are fragrant.

Then add half of the tamarind paste, 1 2/3 cups water, salt and red pepper. Cover the pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 35 minutes.

Then dissolve flour in 1/4 cup of cold water; pour into the stew and stir well. Taste and adjust seasonings. Depending on your taste; add more tamarind paste, for more sour flavour (I added all the tamarind paste) or add more red pepper for spicier stew.

Gently place the tilapia pieces in the stew. Cover the pot and cook for another 30 minutes over medium-low heat. Do not stir the stew.

Place the Ghalieh Mahi stew in a serving bowl and serve with Persian Rice.

Serve with Persian rice. 

Oriental Soba Mooning

Ok so this is fish and noodles, oriental flavours. We used moonfish today and it was delicious.

Sauce: Onions finely chopped (thinking of doing without them next time), kaffir lime leaf (sliced), lemongrass stalk (finely chopped), white wine. Simmer and boil down. Add a spoon of ginger marmalade. Then simmer, wiz in a blender, add fish sauce, lemon juice, butter, finish to a good zingy consistency.

Soba: Boil soba, add broccoli florets at the last minute, drain, dress with soy sauce and sesame oil.

Moon fish: Steam with a bit of salt.

Serve. Really good.

Fish and Watercress Hotpot

• 8 dried shiitake mushrooms
• Some peeled daikon (recipe says ‘1 small daikon’ but I’ve never seen such a thing)
• 1 small carrot, peeled
• 3cm ginger, thinly sliced
• 1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
• 80ml soy sauce
• 1 tbps sugar
• 300g firm tofu, cubed
• 1 red pepper, thick strips
• 500g white fish, cut into bite-sized chunks
• 100g watercress sprigs

(rice to serve)

  

Soak mushrooms, drain and slice, discarding stem. Cut daikon and carrot in half lengthways, and thinly slice.

  

Combine ginger, garlic, soy sauce and sugar in a large saucepan with 1.25l water. Add mushroom, daikon and carrot and bring to boil. Reduce heat, simmer for 10 minutes. Add tofu, pepper, and fish and simmer for another 10 minutes. Allow to sit for 10 minutes.

  

Spoon into four warm bowls and add the watercress. Serve at once with steamed rice.