Stir-Fried Fish with Miso Sauce

In Asian cuisines, cooking with wine is used to enrich a sauce to diminish the fishiness taste of seafood and anchor the delicate flavors of vegetables. The most common wine used in Asian dishes is Shao Hsing rice cooking wine, named for the city of Shao Hsing. It resembles dry sherry in both color and taste and is the standard substitute. I sometimes use sake, which is the wine made from glutinous rice. This simple dish was created to be a simple quick dinner, and the vegetables used can be whatever is on hand in the kitchen.

Ingredients:
Two 6 oz salmon fillets, cut into cubes
Marinade
1 tbs cooking wine, Shao Hsing or dry sherry
1 tbs cornstarch
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbs olive oil
Spicy
1 tbs Miso (fermented soybeans)
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp fresh minced ginger
2 green onions, slice
1/2 cup white onions
Vegetables
1/2 cup green beans, cut into 2 inch lengths
1/4 cup water chestnuts, sliced
2 button mushrooms, sliced
Thickening
1/4 cup vegetable broth
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp cooking wine

Directions:
In a medium bowl, combine the marinade and add fish to coat well. Marinate for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
Heat 2 tbs oil. Stir-fry fish until color changes. Remove from heat. In the same sauté pan, stir-fry spicy ingredients until fragrant. Add the vegetables and 1 tbs water to steam the vegetables. Cook for 3 minutes. Return fish into the sauté pan. Add the thickening ingredients and toss lightly. Cook until the sauce has thickened. Serve.

Skillet Rosemary Chicken

More than 15 years ago, I worked at CPK (California Pizza Kitchen), and the grilled rosemary chicken sandwich was the most popular item on the menu to sell. I have always wanted to find a simple, easy, yet tasty, recipe to post in my blog for people who have hectic lifestyles but want to enjoy preparing healthy meals for themselves. With just a few ingredients on hand, this meal can be created in no time. Any add-ons to complete this dish are very much up to each cook and the variability of each kitchen.

 Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts, skinless
2 sprigs fresh rosemary, leaves removed from stalk
3 cloves garlic
2 tbs lemon juice
1/4 tsp salt and pepper
3 tbs olive oil
¼ tsp red pepper flakes
Other
1 cup button mushrooms, sliced
½ cup white onion, thinly sliced
1 sweet potato, washed, cut into chunks

Directions:
In a small food processor, grind rosemary, garlic, lemon juice, salt, and pepper into a paste. Add olive oil, red pepper flakes, and mix well. Place the chicken breasts into a medium bowl and cover with the olive oil-rosemary paste to marinate for a few hours or overnight.
In a saucepan with water, add potato, cover, and bring to boil. Cook potato for 5 to 7 minutes or until just cooked, but still firm.
In a cast-iron skillet over high heat add chicken and cook until brown on both sides (about 5 minutes). Add mushrooms, white onions, and potato. Reduce heat to medium and cook for 5 minutes or until all is cooked through. Serve.

Braised Chicken with Mushrooms

This dish, chicken slowly braised in tomato sauce, using white wine makes this dish even more attractive. Adding a combination of mushrooms and fresh herbs is the perfect way to serve this simple dish for special occasions.

Ingredients:
2 lbs skinless chicken breasts and legs, cut into big chunks
2 tbs butter
2 tbs olive oil
2 cups button mushrooms, sliced
1 small white onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 large tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup white wine
1 tbs fresh thyme
1 tbs fresh parsley
Salt and pepper.

Directions:
Peeling tomato:
In a medium saucepan, add water and bring to boil. Using a sharp knife, score a small cross on the bottom of each tomato. Blanch the tomatoes in the saucepan of boiling water for 10 seconds. Remove tomatoes and plunge them into a bowl of ice cold water to stop the cooking. Pull away the skin and discard the skin. Cut tomatoes in half and remove the seed by using a spoon to gently scoop out the seeds. Rough chop the tomatoes and set aside.

Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Melt half of the butter and add oil in a cast iron or casserole pan over medium heat and then brown the chicken in batches. Remove the meat from the pan and set aside. Discard the oil and butter left in the pan; then return the pan to the heat and add the remaining butter and oil. Add mushrooms and cook for 2 minutes. Then add onions and the garlic and cook for 3 more minutes. Add the wine and cook for 5 minutes or until all the liquid has evaporated.

 Add tomatoes and chicken stock and stir well. Bring to boil. Add fresh herbs and simmer for 5 minutes, skimming off any impurities or fat from the surface. Return the chicken to the pan. Cover and cook for 30 minutes or until the chicken is tender. Adjust the seasoning and check the consistency of the sauce. If the sauce is not thick enough, then remove the meat and continue to cook the sauce further.

To serve
Divide the meat and mushrooms equally on a serving plate. Pour the sauce over the meat and sprinkle with chopped chives.

Grilled Salmon with Mints and Sweet Pepper Sauce

The herb garden is growing well outside my breakfast room. It gave me an idea to create the smoky sweetness of roasted bell pepper married with mints in a colorful sauce lying beneath a simply delicious, cooked salmon fillet. Enjoy outside with a glass of chilled wine and the summer breeze.

 Ingredients:
Two 6 oz salmon fillets
1 red bell pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper
2 tbs fresh mints, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbs butter

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425°. Lightly brush the whole bell pepper with some olive oil. Then place the bell pepper on a baking sheet and roast for 15-20 minutes or until the skin is blackened. After removing from oven, cover the pepper with plastic wrap. The pepper will sweat, making the skin peel off more easily. Allow to cool. Peel away the skin. Then cut the bell pepper and remove the seeds.
To make the sauce, place the pepper and the remaining olive oil into a blender and process to a smooth purée. Season the purée to taste with 1/4 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp of black pepper and transfer to a small saucepan. Gently heat the sauce and add garlic and mints.
Season the salmon with salt and pepper. In a cast-iron skillet, heat oil and butter over high heat. Place the salmon on the heated skillet and grill for 3 minutes on each side or until the salmon is cooked through.
On a serving plate, spoon some sauce and place the salmon on top. Sprinkle with more fresh mints.

Creole-Spiced Fish

Get juicy fish with a twist by gently steaming them in an herbs-and-lime broth and using parchment paper to help speed-up cleaning after serving.

Ingredients:
Two 6 oz tilapia fillets
Steaming broth:
1 tbs dry sherry
1 tbs fresh oregano leaves
1 tsp old bay seasoning
1 tsp sat
1 tsp chili paste
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tbs olive oil or butter
1/3 cup chicken broth
Others
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
1 small lime, thinly sliced
2 green onions or chives, cut into 2 inch lengths

Directions:
In a small bowl, combine all the steaming broth ingredients and set aside.
Place a 16” x 12”sheet of parchment paper on a work surface.

Fold sheet in half, open, and place a fish fillet onto the center.

 Top with half of the onions, lime, and green onions or chives. Pour half the steaming liquid over fish.

 Fold all sheet edges toward the center to accommodate the liquid. Crimp tightly to seal.

Repeat from parchment paper directions for second fish fillet. Place each packet on a baking pan.

Preheat oven to 350° and bake the enclosed fish for 15 to 20 minutes. Carefully cut open packets (the steam will escape) to serve.