Wild (Fish) Food

What happens when you send 9yr olds out with a shrimp net on a dock?


They catch those little minnows that swim around the margins.  Especially if they are persistent and energetic - and no one has given them any silly notions about how one must catch the minnows.




My nine year old went for the overhead swing and speed netting.  Looked odd to me, but then, my "sneak up slowly" technique never caught sixteen of the little guys.

So, as a self respecting science teacher, what do you do when your child says, "can we dissect them?"
Well, you sharpen the paring knife in the boat's galley, get out your fine forceps (tweezers to the rest of the world), and go to work.  (Of course I have dissecting forceps with me - for emergencies such as this, don't you?)

ok, cleaning a fish smaller than your pinky
is harder than/as hard as it looks.

Then, my opportunistically practical offspring asks, "Can we eat them?"
And I am forced to ponder my last trip to a tapas restaurant.  Well, yes we can.  And if I am going to dissect one in the name of science, why not six in the name of culinary exploration?

And thus:

A quick fry in a 1/4" of oil and a sprinkle of salt.
Pro Tip: frying in oil on a boat galley - not normally recommended.
But this was in the name of science.

And since it was his idea:

OhBoy! OhBoy! OhBoy!

And finally:

Chowder = Thai Curry... true story

So, this shows up on the boat...

So, they're not all keepers - some too small, some females,
and T's not there, so we can only keep 5.  "Only."

The problem with shell fish is you gotta eat it or freeze it pretty much RIGHT AWAY.  And if it freezes too slowly it tastes funny, and feels funny in your mouth because of the large ice crystals that form during slower freezing.

But - in a soup - it has half a chance.  The soup ingredients change the freezing dynamics, and some other secrets.

But back to my crazy claim - that building a chowder and a Thai Curry are the same process.

Let's start with the ingredients:

Thai Curry:                           Chowder:

coconut fat/oil                          bacon/salt pork/oil
curry paste                               salt & your preferred seasoning
garlic & aromatics                   onions, celery

vegetables                               vegetables
(eggplants, carrots, peppers    (corn, peppers, carrots)
pea pods, cucumbers)
starch - noodles/potatoes         starch - potatoes
creaminess - coconut milk       creaminess - milk/cream
liquid - broth                           liquid - broth
secret ing. - fish sauce             secret ing. - clam juice
protein gently cooked in         protein warmed/cooked in the 
the hot soup (chicken,             hot soup (shellfish or lobster/crab)
prawns or tofu)

In both you heat the fat, and cook up some pungent and aromatic ingredients.  Soften the vegetables, stir in the broth, cook the potatoes, and any other tender vegetables (OK the noodle gig is a bit different - but you get the picture...)
Add the creaminess and season with the secret ingredient.
Heat up or gently cook the protein of your choice.

Which all led me to completely go off the rails while making a corn and crab chowder for dinner - some to eat and some to freeze.  The stunningly delicious result?

Green Curry Corn & Crab Chowder

Ingredients:
1/2 lb Bacon cut into thin strips
1/2 tsp green curry† (a little goes a long way)
1 large yellow onion, chopped (about 2 C)
2 ribs celery, chopped (about 1C)
1/2 C roasted piquillo peppers, chopped*
3/4 C flour (wheat or rice or 1 Tbs corn starch)
2Q (8C) chicken stock (that's 2 of the boxes)
1.5 lbs potatoes (waxy) cut to the size of your end thumb joint
3 ears of corn - cut off the kernels (see below)††
1 C half & half **
1/2 C fresh parsley - or a mix with cilantro - chopped
2 Tbs fish sauce (add more, carefully, to taste)
Per Person - approx. 1/2C - 1C picked dungeness crab meat

Prep:
Chop everything to the right size.  That'll keep you out of trouble for awhile

Cook!
Place a large soup pot over medium heat.  Cook the bacon until most of the fat is cooked out - and it starts to think about getting crispy.  About 10 min.
Add the curry paste and stir it into the rendered bacon fat.  As soon as you can smell it,
add the onions and celery and cook until they start to soften.  About 10 min.
Stir in the flour - cook for about 10 min - until the flour is nice and pasty over the veg.
Add about a cup of the chicken stock - stir to dissolve the flour.  Add in the rest of the the chicken stock and bring to a boil.
Turn the heat down to medium, add in the potatoes, corn and roasted peppers.  Simmer for 10 minutes - check the potatoes.  If the are soft - onto the next step.  If not, keep simmering until the potatoes are fork tender.  When they get there,
Stir in the half & half and herbs.  Stir in the fish sauce and taste.  Add fish sauce a spoonful at a time, tasting as you go.   Stop when it is just right.
Simmer for the last 2 minutes.

Place the crab meat in the bottom of the bowls, and ladle over some soup.

Enjoy while laughing wickedly.

If there is extra soup - let it cool in the fridge, pop it in plastic snap top containers and freeze it ASAP.  Any extra crab goes in there too.

Thaw overnight in the fridge, heat over low heat, and serve with lime wedges to revive the flavors.
  

† Any green curry will do, but if you have a recipe/access to a particularly fresh, lemon grass heavy version - that will give results to brag to your friends about.  You CAN add more, but you don't won't to overwhelm the flavor of the crab.

*Point of substitution to your taste/materials: use regular roasted red peppers, or the amount you want of something spicier or 1C chopped raw red peppers.

† Put a small plate in a large bowl.  Stand the shucked corn cob on the flat end on the plate.  Hold the pointy end.  Use your chefs knife to cut down the cob and cut off the kernels.  No need to go too close the the cob.
Turn the knife so the blunt side is facing the cob, and run it down the side, getting all the yummy, sweet corn juice out.
Use the whole soupy mess in your chowder.

** Another easy substitution - you can go 1C milk and 1C cream if you happen to have that instead.  Or if you don't do dairy, take it a little more over to Thai Curry with 1 can of coconut milk instead.

Bocha Bocha Udon (Splashy Noodles - Japanese Style)

The secret to making those amazing noodle soups: the right broth, the right noodles, and not so much random stuff.

Just add broth - bok choi leaves and stems, pea pods, teriyaki chicken,
fish cake (kamaboko - its traditional!) and scallions

Even though it is noodle soup, the vegetables are really one of the most important parts.  Noodles are shelf (ramen) or freezer (udon) stable, as is the fish cake (kamaboko), so they can be bought at any time.
But leaves, they need to be caught up and captured when opportunity and the season allows.  Late spring and early summer means tender bok choi, pea pods and scallions are sweet and green, and will balance a hearty fishy broth to astounding (possibly legendary?) effect.

But the greens can't stand alone.  They need the support of salty, savory and sweet, along with the extending and sweet chewy foil of a proper udon noodle.

scallions (9:00), teryaki chicken, kamaboko (fishcake) and
udon noodles (frozen clump, ready for boiling) 

The noodle broth needs to be properly complex and tasty.  There are many ways to accomplish this.  If I were in Japan (or San Francisco) there would be several Best Of places to direct the connoisseur.  Here in Seattle, lacking a lucky strike in the C.I.D., the 2nd best is getting bonito sachets from an Asian or well supplied market (steer clear of things with "not fish" as the 1st ingredient - If it smells like fish food you most likely have the right stuff.)  Follow the directions on the box.  If the directions are in characters, rather than letters... do the following (in true barbarian style - I've figured this out though trial and error.  If you know better do it your way):

a) in one large pot, bring plenty of water to the boil - add the frozen udon noodles.  When the water returns to the boil, boil for 2-3 minutes, drain and add a bit of sesame oil to keep the noodles from sticking.  If you are working with dried? udon {which I have never seen} use what directions you can find.
b) find a reasonable recipe for dashi/noodle broth on the internet.
c) see the next picture

My favorite (easy) noodle broth:
4C water - bring to a boil
Add sachet (10g) of fish flakes - boil 5 min - remove fish flakes
lower to simmer and add 1/2C (115ml) soy sauce and
1 Tbs/1oz. sugar (28g)
garlic and ginger are optional/to taste
(revise and adapt as you develop preferences) 

ready for boiling water - genmaicha
roasted rice and green tea.  Smells like home
to much of the Pacific rim  - both East and West sides
- even if we've never had it before.

The very best part of Bocha Bocha (Japanese for "splashy") Udon is that is can be personalized in a large crowd.  Splashy - beacuase that's what happens to one's nose when you slurp them properly.

Everyone gets a bowl of noodles - lubricated with a bit of sesame oil.
Top with leaves, proteins (chicken - teriyaki or otherwise, beef, tempura shrimp, fish cake, sliced hard boiled eggs, fried or cubed tofu - many combinations also suffice) other vegetables, and possibly a pickled vegetable (radishes or chrysanthemum petals can are traditional) to one's taste - and then scallions/green onions for all create a delicious yet individual feast for a small crowd - even the picky ones.

Meatless Monday you say?  Go with a veggie broth, and toss in a handful of mushrooms and sliced inari skins to fill up the meaty flavors and the protein desires.  Any extra inari strips can be fried up and added to a salad the next day.  (honest, I'll show you soon!)

A truly versatile meal - and once you get the hang of it - quicker than takeout and MUCH cheaper than delivery.

Freezer Jam - Strawberry 1st, every other flavor later

And then as the season goes on - more fruits can get the same treatment. (see below*)

Strawberries get a bath

That's right - those barely here, and then they are GONE strawberries blew through town.  And I got one day to make things with them before the disappeared until next year.  I gave up a day of sailing for this.

Little jars of jam to be given out to people who need some love.

So how does this happen?

Step 1:  Clear the decks.  This can be done thoughtfully, with careful planning ahead, or ruthlessly by ignoring everything and everyone for the 1 (half†) day this process takes.

†half is a word up for dispute in this case.

Step 2: Get your hands on a flat of strawberries - the kind you buy in the morning and that looks forlorn by the evening and starts to grow fuzz if you do not refrigerate them overnight.  Get 2 flats if you are crazy, or working with a friend.

Step 3:  Get granulated sugar (all pretend sugar, "cane juice crystals" and the like contain an incorrect balance of water, or the wrong chemicals entirely - go with the tried and true this time) , plenty of Ball's Instant Pectin and more canning jars than you think you will need, especially if are getting dainty ones to share.  Run them, the rims and the lids through the dishwasher on the hot/sanitize cycle and leave them in there until you are ready to use them.  (Or boil them all for 5 minutes in a big pot and leave them on the stove at just warm - but submerged.)

Step 4: Wash out the sink and dig up a drinking straw and a pairing knife.  Clean out some big bowls or tupperwares, and be ready to use them all.

OK - dump one layer of strawberries in the sink and let them swim.  Swish them around so they get nice and clean with out getting bruised.  

Pull out any strawberries with any obvious bruising, trim them and start your bin of cleaned strawberries.  Move on to the non-bruised strawberries.

Take them out one by one, and push the drinking straw through the pointy end of each strawberry up towards the leafy cap, and pop out the tough core.

Each of your strawberries will have a neat little hole in them, and the cap will be removed.

Take a layer of strawberries in a medium sized container, and smash them with a fork (or a potato masher).

Dump the smashed, juicy strawberries into a large bowl.  Work through the berries in the sink, and any subsequent batches until you have this very juicy, rough berry "soup."

Measure out sugar and pectin for 1 batch of Jam (recipe is on the side of the instant pectin - or see below*), and stir them together. 

Add the right amount of strawberry"soup."  Stir together and ladle into the warm, clean jars.  Screw on the lids, let 'em cool a bit and stick them in the freezer, but leave some in the fridge to eat tonight, tomorrow, and soon.

This works with yogurt, ice-cream, toast, and works remarkably well as the strawberries for a fall (winter, Valentine's Day?) strawberry shortcake.

*Super Fast Strawberry Freezer Jam
(courtesy of Ball's Instant Pectin)  For 2C of Jam

1 2/3 C smashed strawberries (substitute raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, marionberries, cherries)**
2/3 C sugar
2 Tbs Instant Pectin

Stir together the sugar and pectin
Add the fruit and stir for about 3 minutes
Ladle the jam into freezer safe jars (or study freezer-happy plastic snap top containers)
let set for 30 min and enjoy, or pop in the freezer for future use.

**You can also do this with peaches, apricots or nectarines or plums.  But peel, pit and finely chop.  And use 1Tbs bottled/ pasteurized lemon juice to keep the pH correct to stop the bad bugs.

Fresh Pea Risi e Bisi

The ancient art of shelling peas

When the peas show up, they can stampede.

I ended up with a bunch of peas - both snow peas (eat the pod kind) and English peas (pop out of the pod kind), and a hankering for Risi e Bisi - the ridiculously delicious Italian treat of risotto with peas, parmesan, salt and pepper (and sometimes bacon, or pancetta or whatnot).

Peas in process

Don't let the risotto stories scare you.  All you really need to do is pay attention - a bit, and not be trying to make it on one of those timed, competitive cooking shows.  Mere mortals need a half an hour to make risotto, not some magical 15 minutes.

So to make the risi e bisi, collect the following:

Equipment:

2 pans - 1 at least 6 cups (1.5 quarts), the other at lest 8 cups (2 quarts)

ladle

heat resistant stirring spoon (wood, plastic, just not metal)

cheese grater 

knife and cutting board if you are chopping up edible pea pods

Ingredients:

4C/1qt broth - chicken is nice (one of those boxes works great)

a few oz. parmesan cheese (grate it into a few large handfuls)

salt and pepper

a garlic clove or two - smashed, peeled and chopped

olive oil (or bacon fat if you are feeling decadent)

a rounded cup of Arborio rice (about 1C + 1 or 2Tbs)

a pound of English peas (in their pods)

a handful or so of snow peas (or other eatable pea pods)

(Optional - a bit of bacon, or Italian equivalent, chopped into small match-sticky sized bits)

Prep:

Pop the peas out of their pods

Rinse and trim the snow pea pods (pull or cut off the stem end of the pod), then roughly chop them into thirds or bite size pieces.
Pour the broth into the smaller pan, set it to boil, then turn down to simmer so it stays hot.

Cook!

In the larger pan, pour in a short Tbs of oil, place over medium heat*.  When the oil has heated for 3-4 minutes - looks shiny, and pours around the pan easily, add the garlic, stir for a few seconds of sizzle.  Then stir in the rice and toast for about 2 minutes.
Use the ladle to add about 1/3 of the stock.  Stir it in, and let it bubble until the rice absorbs it and starts to get a bit sticky/starchy looking.  Stir now and then while this is happening.
Add the next third, repeat.
Add the last third of the stock, repeat.  As the the last third gets close to being absorbed, stir in the cheese, salt, pepper and peas.

Let cool until you can just eat it.
Sigh with delight, and share with people you love.

*if you want to add some bacon, render the fat out of the bacon, cook the pieces until crisp, the remove them.  Continue on with the recipe using the the rendered (tasty) bacon fat.  Add the crispy bacon back on top as a garnish at the end.

Extended Recipe: Curry Kraut Short Rib Tostadas

An extended recipe for these tostadas.
Find the zucchini recipe in the previous post.

Equipment:
small frying pan or medium round-bottomed sauce pan
tongs or chopsticks (or spatula)
grill, grill pan or frying pan
paper towels & a cake/cookie cooling rack (or plate)

Ingredients:
Oly Kraut's Curry Kraut
Korean short ribs (bool gogi, bal-gi, kal-bi, etc.)*
2-3 small corn tortillas per person
frying oil†

Prep & Cook!:
Next to the stove, place a paper towel or two on the cooling rack with more standing by.
Place the small frying pan on the stove, and fill with 1/4" or so of frying oil.
Heat at medium high for about 3-4 minutes, or until a sliver of tortilla dropped in the oil bubbles and fries and floats back to the top by the count of 10.
One at a time, fry the little corn tortillas in oil.  They will puff a little and turn a golden brown pretty quickly.  Flip, fry the other side and drain on the paper towels.  It is OK to stack tortillas/paper towels/tortillas/paper towels for the short amount of time they will be there.

Once the tortillas are fried, get the short ribs going over a pre-heated medium hot surface - grill, frying pan etc.  Keep your eye on these, they are thin, and cook quickly.  When one side gets cooked, with some tasty looking charred bits (including satisfying grill marks) flip them, and let the other side acquire the same tasty appearance.  (You can pull off a piece and slice it to make sure it is cooked through).

Lay the tortillas out on plates, cover with a layer of the curry kraut, lay over with hearty slices of short rib.  Eat with your hands.

*I do not have a recipe for Korean Short Ribs.  I get mine pre-marinated from Trader Joe's making this a remarkably quick dinner.  There are a zillion recipes on line, I bet 10 are amazing, but very involved, half a zillion are great, and the other half are just fine too.

†Frying oil is anything with a higher smoke (scorching and smelling bad) point.  Canola oil, olive oil (not extra-virgin), peanut oil, vegetable oil, and grapeseed oil all fit the bill.  Usually anything with a pronounced flavor has delicate compounds that would be mangled by high heat.  Neutral flavored oil are usually perfect for frying.

Curry Kraut Korean Short Rib Tostadas

An extended recipe for the tostada is in the next post,
the zucchini recipe is at the bottom of this one.

What do you do when zucchini and curry kraut comes in your CSA bag?

Quick, slice up the the zucchini and marinate it in soy sauce and sesame, and toss it in the fridge.  Then, run out to the store (TJ's or a great butcher shop, or a secret family recipe) and get your paws on some Korean Short Ribs (bool gogi, bal-gi, kal-bi, etc.) and a stack of little corn tortillas.

Later that day or the next (or the next), fire up the grill.

Get a rack to keep the zucchini from falling onto the flames, and start it on the grill.

No uni-taskers here!  Cooling cakes one day, draining bacon another,
but today, it keeps marinated zucchini over the fire instead of in it. 

When the marinated zucchini gets going, throw on the short ribs.

The zucchini have much more water in them,
so they will take longer than the thinly sliced short ribs.  

While your minion is outside grilling, fire up a bit of oil in an appropriately sized pan and fry those little corn tortillas to crispy.

Then - when it all comes together, grilled marinated zucchini, short ribs, curry kraut, crispy fried corn tortillas... you look like a CSA genius.  Thanks Oly Kraut, and Thanks Helsing Junctions Farms.

Yeah - you're just lucky this got taken.
I had to throw elbows to keep it from getting eaten long enough to get this one picture.

Sesame Soy Marinated Zucchini

is simply sliced zucchini (scoop out the seeds if you like).  Any shape works.  I had ball zucchini, that's why the wedges.

Use Soy Sauce and Sesame Oil to marinate the zucchini for 1 - 5 days.  Flip or shake every day or so.

I use a ratio of 1Tbs soy sauce: 1tsp sesame oil and make sure everything is coated, but not drowning.

Drain the zucchini when you are ready to use it.  The lost water makes for tastier veg.  Grill the heck out of it out doors, under the broiler - or in a pan.  Somehow get a light char on it.  

TaDa!

(Sorry - I have no amazing Korean Short Rib Recipe other that "buy it from Trader Joe's and grill on a late summer evening.")