Simply Fishy

After the heavy rains have died down, and we pick ourselves up from the devastation of typhoon Maring (international name "Trami'), it is certainly a time to go back to something simple.  What better way to serve a meal than to make one that doesn't require a lot of time and ingredients.  Here's a recipe for steamed fish fillet I'd like to contribute to your recipe box.

 

 

 

The Recipe:

 

200 gms. boneless fish fillet (lapu-lapu or grouper, cream dory, or maya-maya)

4-5 garlic cloves, minced (more if you like)

1 tsp. sesame oil

1 tsp. Chinese cooking wine

1 tsp. chopped spring onions

1/2 to 1 tsp. salt, or to taste

 

Arrange fish fillets on a plate.  Add sesame oil and cooking wine evenly on the fillets.  Sprinkle salt evenly followed by the minced garlic.  Place in a steamer or arrange a rack inside a big casserole with simmering water reaching only 1/4 level.  Steam fish for 10-15 minutes.  Sprinkle spring onions on the fillets and serve immediately.



Go Fish!

Well, what do you know...Lakbay Mesa's first anniversary came and went (!)

While I try my best to put in entries as regularly as I could, handling my food business while at the same time keeping my day job has proved quite challenging. Admittedly, one of them had to suffer (just a little). But for those few people out there who've read one or two of any of the entries here, I'd like to thank you for taking the time. I regret that I wasn't able to make an anniversary entry here but I'll have to forgive myself for this since the recent typhoon "Basyang" blew me over, including our electricity connection for over a week! Thank God that our water supply wasn't affected. I suppose counting one's blessings is still in order...



To mark a more frugal situation such as the rise of gasoline prices, electric bills, and other basic commodities, a simpler menu would probably be welcome. But instead of reaching for the nearest burger joint, I recommend eating fish instead. I suppose at present, one of the cheaper kinds of fish in the supermarket would be the cream dory. While I do remember this particular chain email I received about the supposed truth behind cream dory farming or what is called the Panggasius fish in Vietnam or some other Asian country, maybe for our purposes, I'd like to recommend buying cream dory that is farmed from our native waters like the ones produced by Saranggani Bay, which sells at competitive prices alongside the imported ones. Check your friendly supermarket.

Actually, this recipe is quite easy to make and makes the fish very tasty. It's a great idea for a weeknight dinner, just like the one we had this Tuesday.

Chinese Style Fish Kebabs

Recipe:

1 kilo cream dory fillets, cut into chunks of 1 in. by 1 in.
3 Tbsp. oyster sauce
1 Tbsp. ginger, sliced into thin strips
1 Tbsp. sliced spring onions
1 tsp. sesame seeds

Procedure:

1. Skewer fish chunks into thin barbeque sticks that have been submerged in cold water for a few minutes.
2. Mix the other ingredients together and marinate the fish sticks for 15-20 minutes.
3. Heat a grill pan that has been coat thinly with corn oil in medium fire.
4. Cook the fish sticks 3-4 mins. on each side, while brushing it with remaining marinade to keep the fish moist.
5. Serve while hot with noodles or rice