Paella En El Estilo Del Momento

Paella in the style of the moment. This is hopefully a proper translation.

Having been at sea for two solid months with lots of cooking, I took a rest. But recently I felt the urge for being creative again. Summer is almost here and my paella pan is hanging on the wall, gathering dust, not having been used much as a result of my seafaring activities. This is a good pointer to a stir-fried dish or a paella.


After some deliberation the choice fell on a paella. But the pan is too big to make a dish for two people. No problem. I have friends. So, after a phone call or two a dinner date was arranged. Ten guests. Thanks to my friends Tony and Marjo, I had a venue, the ingredients and guests to boot!

What remained was to think up something new.

A paella is very easy to make, but I was looking for a new way of doing things. Perhaps in the preparation. An eclectic mix of ingredients do not tickle my fancy. Paella is supposed to be a simple, almost rustic dish. Not complicated.

The answer was lurking in the process. How do I get more flavour in the dish without using external chemical means. Read spicy mixes. The idea came to me from methods more often used in making stews. You can add stock from external sources, but it seemed more fun to use the stock already in the pan.

This line of reasoning led to a sequence of frying the ingredients that would leave some caramelised  residue in the pan to be soaked up by the sauces later, before the dish gets too dry. Very much like making a stew or a risotto. Most of the stock is created by frying the ingredients itself.

The choice of the day fell on a mixed paella, easy to make and open to experimentation. The only caveat is not to burn the ingredients, because then you start over.

This recipe is well known in the paella world, being mostly chicken, with a spruce-up of prawns and mussels making it a mixed paella. I decided to go with turmeric and saffron, instead of a smoked paprika. The chourizo sausages in the dish would provide sufficient smokiness to the overall flavour. I also used proper Spanish short grain rice. There is a slight difference in flavour to the long grain rice and the dish also tends to be a bit drier than when using long grain rice. Which makes it a paella as opposed to a risotto, I guess.

In the end I used some additional chicken stock. Use the best you can get with the least chemical content. The spring onions are chopped into thumb size lengths as garnish with the peas. The green, leafy part of the stems are chopped up finely as garnish with the coriander leaves. A paella needs to be done using olive oil. Olive oil will add to the authentic taste. But you may use any vegetable oil, they all are suitable.

This dish is enough for ten to fifteen people. I used my 42cm /16 ½ inch paella pan obtainable in South Africa from Perfect Paella in Cape Town. I am pretty sure that this type of pan is reasonably available all over the world.

Ingredients

1 kg short grain rice
2,5 kg chicken breast fillets, cubed and dried
2 chourizo sausages, they are about 150-200mm long (6-8”), sliced finely.
1 kg blanched prawn tails
500 g shelled mussels
3 medium onions
3 medium tomatoes, chopped coarsely
2 hot Thai chillies, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, mashed
1 teaspoon coriander seeds, crushed
4 spring onions for garnish
1/ cup of fresh coriander leaves, chopped coarsely for garnish
2 cups frozen peas
1 ½ teaspoon turmeric
6 saffron stalks in a cup of boiling water
2 teaspoons freshly ground pepper
some salt to taste
1 l chicken stock
400ml dry white wine
Some olive oil for frying

Process

Make sure the chicken cubes are quite dry. Start by frying the chourizo sausages in the pan with some oil. Once these are done to a nice brown colour, remove them from the pan and fry the chicken cubes. Do it in batches, otherwise you tend to get lots of fluid, in which case you are boiling the meat, not frying it. I had to bail the pan twice to get rid of all the chicken juice. I kept this with the stock for use later. When the chicken is done, remove it all and keep warm.

Then start the onions. Once the onions are getting to a nice brown colour, add the chilies, coriander seeds and garlic. Fry these for thirty seconds, then add the chopped tomato. Once these are all going nicely, add the rice. The caramelised bits will have come off the bottom of the pan and into the sauces.


Fry the rice for a while to take up the flavours, then add the wine. Cook the lot until the wine reduces, somewhat, then add chicken stock a little bit at a time. Make sure the dish doesn't burn. After the chicken stock you add water as required until the rice has swollen enough to be almost edible. The add the prawns and the mussels. They don't need much cooking. Stir the dish to ensure that nothing sticks to the bottom of the pan. Add the saffron, pepper and turmeric at this stage. Keep adding water as required, keeping the dish only just fluid.

Add the chicken and chourizo back to the dish. Test for saltiness, the dish may be too fresh still.

Add the chopped spring onions and the peas just before the dish is done. Allow the dish to rest for ten to fifteen minutes. Add the coriander and spring onion leaves as garnish. Arrange it artistically, your friends would love it. I cut some rings from a red bell pepper as further garnish.


Then dish up. This dish goes very well with a dry white wine.

Bon appetit!


Authored by Johan Zietsman

Last updated on 2014-09-12

Friday Squalls And Stir Fry Noodles

Just as we were beginning to think the weather was clearing, we met with squally weather. On a Friday which is our bath day. The one day in the week that we are allowed a shower. I actually managed to get exactly one sun sight reading before the clouds set in with a vengeance. I still have to do the sight reduction and plotting, as it was quite late and I had to prepare dinner.

On this boat it is a definite advantage to have a shower. Especially when the motors have been running. Then we have hot showers as the boat is fitted with proper geysers. These work off the engine cooling as well as off shore power when connected. For now, the engine heat is enough to heat the water to way beyond comfortable temperature. In fact, you can almost make coffee. The wonders of modern engineering never cease to amaze. Thank heavens for small mercies like these on a cold and blustery Friday.

At the time of writing we are about 140 nautical miles away from the island and making good way in this wind. Another blessing in disguise, I reckon. We shall be arriving at the island half a day earlier than expected as a result of exactly this blustery weather. Then comes the part of whether the authorities will allow us ashore by clearing us in. We are arriving at a most inopportune time, as the Springboks will be playing against New Zealand at the time of our arrival. Interesting bureaucracy in the offing, methinks. In the event we are only cleared in on Monday morning, we shall be doing the various services required at this stage while we wait out the day.

This afternoon our crew saw a yellow fin tuna jump out the water, probably after some small bait fish. In turn, the crew almost jumped out of his skin. We had not been able to fish during the last few days as we were making good sailing time and the skipper felt it prudent to keep going while the wind lasts. You never know when we shall hit the doldrums and need the extra diesel.

It was my turn to cook again. I made an Asian style stir fry beef mince dish. Well, as Asian as I could make it with the ingredients on hand. Italian spaghetti, South African beef mince, butter instead of oil and a can of creamed sweet corn to boot.

The spaghetti may be substituted with rice, especially brown rice. Rice makes a change for the better to both the texture and flavour of the dish. Use one cup of rice for every four people.

I used all fresh vegetables and some dried Shitake mushrooms. The result was quite edible, if somewhat eclectic. We have only Jalapeno chillies on board, nothing hotter, so I used two. At least we got the flavour. I also used the last of our batch of fenugreek sprouts. These little sprouts impart a slightly bitter flavour and make a juicy addition to the mix.

I also used some black mustard seeds and coriander seeds to add to the flavour. The spaghetti, meat and vegetables were all mixed before dishing up.

This dish came out quite creamy as a result of using creamed sweet corn. We don't have anything else in the line of corn, so that was it. The sweetness was exquisite and the dish had just the right amount of saltiness from the soy sauce. I chopped half of the onion Chinese style, the other half into the normal diced style. This gave me some texture i8n the dish. The carrots were roughly julienned for the same reason. Something to look at while you are eating.

Ingredients

400g lean beef mince

½ cup dried mushrooms

1 onion, chopped

2 jalapeno chillies, chopped

1 ½ teaspoon black mustard seeds

1 teaspoon coriander seeds

1 can sweet corn

1/3 cabbage, coarsely sliced and chopped

½ sweet pepper, coarsely chopped

2 carrots, coarsely julienned

1 cup sprouts

2 teaspoons chopped garlic & ginger mix

250g spaghetti

some butter for frying

some soy sauce

Process

Start by reviving the mushrooms by soaking them in boiling water.

Fry the mustard and coriander seeds in a little butter until the flavour comes out, then add the onions and jalapeno chillies. Fry until translucent. Add the meat and fry until the meat is brown, then add the sweet corn and a dollop of soy sauce. Simmer this until some of the fluid has cooked off, then set this aside to rest.

Use the same pan, in our case a wok. It is now flavoured with your ingredients. Add a little butter to the pan and fry the garlic and ginger mix until the flavours come out nicely, then add all the vegetables. Fry these until they are al dente to your taste, then set aside away rom the heat.

Get the spaghetti boiling while the other two parts of the dish are resting. I broke the raw spaghetti into three sections to get shorter pieces. Shorter pieces mix easier into the vegetables. Once the spaghetti is done, mix it directly into the vegetables. Simmer a few minutes to allow the juices to mix. Add a little soy sauce to taste.

Once the vegetables and noodles/spaghetti are cooked through, add the meat mix and warm through.

Then dish up. Hopefully you have enough for four people. If they are hungry, like my shipmates, they will devour this dish in no time.

Bon appetit!

Authored by Johan Zietsman

Last updated on 2013-10-04

Cricket Bats, Skillets and Other Weapons of Anger

After the whole Oscar Pistorius scandal and the ongoing saga surrounding the happenings, I thought at length about the weaponry available in the kitchen. That is, apart from the obvious supposedly sharp knives that are quite blunt in fact. Well, in my experience, mostly anyway. And apart from the other obvious weapons in the hose, like cricket bats and baseball bats and the more innocuous looking rolled up women's magazines.

And I wondered about the vagaries of using kitchen equipment as weapons. A cricket bat featured in the statements made and the evidence gathered in the Oscar Pistorius case. I wondered how many skillets have been used in anger as a weapon.

Perhaps the kitchen equipment have been used for millennia in anger to prepare angry food! I know of at least one case where policemen in barracks have been fed angry food with overdoses of various spices after they mistreated their hired cook. In such cases the skillet is most definitely a weapon, but used in a more subtle way, perhaps.

Blunt knives and useless kitchen equipment have become such an epidemic that I now take my personal chef's kit along whenever I travel. This kit includes three properly sharpened knives, including a large chef's knife, a solid bird knife and a small paring knife. Include a proper peeler that can also peel squash pumpkins, a small sharpening device, a GI can opener and a small cutting board.  The small cutting board is replaced by a big end grain cutting board when I am not flying or sailing. Add to this a proper silicone spatula from le Creuset and you are almost there.

And not to forget my spice box. It is horrendous how many people have no idea of using spices and just mix ready-made sauces, or even worse, ready mix dry powder sauces (read chemical concoction) in various brews and call it food.

But today I wish to discuss the various uses of a skillet. We have touched briefly on its use as a weapon, in direct and other subtle ways.

A skillet is heavy. With good heat retention characteristics and really useful to cook on. Or is it 'in'? Make no mistake, I regularly use my heavy cast iron utensils.  However, for my travel requirements I need something lighter. Something that I can use on the gas hob over the coals or over dancing flames. For use in grilling meat, making stir fries, pancakes, flapjacks and, last but not least, paella. My favourite Spanish food.

Kitchen weapon of choice for the moment

So I shopped around and found a real Spanish paella pan at Perfect Paella. At a really decent price, with sizes and finishes to satisfy even the most eclectic fashion tastes. And they are quite light. I purchased one in polished steel. These pans are nicely finished with no surface treatment other than a layer of oil. You clean them by boiling some water in it, drying, then oiling lightly with olive oil. The pan will get a layer of olive oil baked into the surface with use. Complete with the flavours that you use in the pan, rather like a wok. I like it this way. Over time the pan seals completely and nothing ever again sticks to it. You clean it by wiping with a wet cloth.

I went the whole hog and cleaned the pan as per instructions, not wanting to take chances. I bought some real Spanish paella rice along with the pan and used the recipe on the back of the pack as a broad guide to what I was about to make.

The pan performed way beyond what I expected from the first use. No burning, no heat spots, no discolouring of the steel. I used a stainless steel egg lifter to stir the food. One of the plus points of using a plain polished steel pan. No problem there. I  made a medium sized fire in the Weber kettle and plonked the paella pan on top of the grill. Be careful when handling the paella pan, the steel handles get hot. The pan needs a medium to hot fire. I think one will need to experiment a little with the size of the fire.

The beauty of using the kettle braai is that one can put the lid on the kettle and let the dish simmer. The fluid in the pan steams and it controls the fire a bit. The steam also heats up way past  the boiling point of water, adding to the heat distribution inside this makeshift oven. All of this work towards very good cooking.

This pan is getting an honourable place in my kitchen. It is a very good tool. In the house, on camping trips and on travelling holidays where you have your own travel medium. Like a car. This won't work when flying.

Al fresco cooking

The recipe for the paella is quite simple: Two diced tomatoes, a clove of garlic, two diced onions, two cups of rice, some sea food, some chicken, salt to taste, seafood stock, paprika or Spanish saffron. Some olive oil. Add water as necessary. Fry the chicken pieces until brown, remove from the pan then fry the sea food, using a dollop of olive oil to lubricate the pan as required.

Remove the sea food when almost done.

Then add the onions, fry until translucent, add the garlic and fry for ten seconds, then add the dry, uncooked rice. Fry this until the pan goes almost dry, then add some of the stock. Keep on stirring and frying, adding first the stock, then water as required until the rice is almost done. Add the paprika or saffron while the mix is still quite wet and runny.

Add back all the meat and fish, garnish with chopped parsley and a cupful of fresh garden peas and simmer until everything has cooked through.

Make sure that most of the water has boiled away or has been absorbed; this is paella, not risotto.

The result: perfect paella

I added a chopped Thai chilli, pips removed. The paella must not be too spicy. I also added some fresh coriander leaves chopped, along with the parsley. A sprig of chopped spring onion was added along with the peas. And I added some fresh turmeric in lieu of saffron.

Smoked paprika apparently works wonders too. I shall purloin some somewhere in the near future. It adds a very special character to the dish.

Allow the dish to rest for fifteen minutes before dishing up, as always. It allows the flavours to develop. Have a glass of red wine while you wait, it is good for you.

Buen apetito!

Leftovers

Authored by Johan Zietsman

Last updated on 2013-03-12

Soul food: Paella alla Ziets

It's been a while since my last blog post. These things happen. In this case it was Christmas and the new year's festivities.

These have passed, now it was time for the missus and I to sit back, relax and have a cosy meal in quiet companionship. We needed this after the noisy new year's party.

The choice fell on paella. Something I haven't made for a while. So, a dive into the internet was not considered untoward. We have made paella before, this was a question of refining the recipe and to get new ideas, perhaps. The famous Jamie Oliver proposes using bacon, amongst other ingredients. Sounded frightfully British to me, so I searched for a Spanish version.

Being a member of a Google+ circle, I perused the blog of Maria Teresa Aleman, a Spanish food blogger resident in Madrid. Her recipe for paella mixta looked sufficiently traditional to give it a try. In fact, it looked positively delicious. Of course, true to form, I did not have the same ingredients. However, the general idea was good enough to set me on the way.

I have often thought about the difference between paella and risotto. After some deliberation and a brief internet search, I decided that the differences lie chiefly in the type of rice and the assembly of ingredients. And then I use my own process. The old ego and creativity thing, you know. Complete with my pet subject: Food made with love and passion.

For this one I used normal long grain rice, some de-boned chicken breasts, some shelled prawns and some shelled mussels. In my neck of the woods the mussels in half shells cost more than double the price of the shelled ones. Ditto for the prawns in the shell. This dish was not supposed to break the bank.

The ingredients given here are enough for about five to six decent portions. I used two fresh Thai chillies from the garden and a portion of a Habanero chilli. The Habanero gives a nice flavour to the dish. As for the chicken stock, I use a ready-mix one that comes in an envelope as a paste, then add water to the dish as required. I did not have a bell pepper (sweet green pepper), so I chopped one of the onions Chinese style to have shreds. Just for the looks of the dish. The tomatoes were just coarsely chopped into chunks, skin and all. This dish also requires saffron. I used the real Indian stuff as I do not have the Spanish variety.

Ingredients

¾ cup of long grain rice
1 kg deboned chicken breasts, cubed

1½ cup of shelled prawns, raw
1½ cup of shelled mussels

1½ medium onions, chopped

3 small or two large tomatoes, chopped into chunks
1 cup of fresh frozen peas
4 spring onions for garnish
Some fresh coriander leaves, chopped
1 teaspoon coriander seeds, crushed
½ teaspoon black peppercorns, crushed. I used a mortar and pestle for this.
2 teaspoons turmeric
1 teaspoon saffron essence. Or make a tea with three to four saffron stalks and a half cup of boiling water

3 cloves fresh garlic, chopped and mashed

2 hot chillies, chopped finely

Some salt

1 cup dry white wine

1 cup of chicken stock

4 cups of water, as required

Some olive oil for frying

Process

I decided to make this dish in a similar fashion as my stewed dishes and the risottos. The chicken gets fried in a dry pan with a little butter or duck fat to brown it, followed in separate turns by the prawns and then the mussels. The prawns and mussels get fried for about a minute or two, literally. Put the meats aside separately to let them rest.

Start again with some more butter or duck fat in the pan, along with a dollop of olive oil. I used my cast iron buffet casserole from Le Creuset, as the wide, shallow dish is quite suited to making a paella and other stir-fried dishes. Add the crushed seeds and stir fry them for thirty seconds or so until the flavour comes out. Add the chopped onions and fry them until they get brown, then add the chopped chillies and the mashed garlic.

Take care not to burn these, else you start all over because they go bitter. Once done, add the raw rice and stir fry to let the rice take up the flavours in the pan. Add a little water to ensure that the rice don't burn. Add the wine and the chicken stock and stir through thoroughly. Add boiling water as needed. The rice will start taking up water, so take care not to let the dish burn. Once the rice get to a three-quarters stage, add the tomatoes and the spring onions. Add some more water and let the dish simmer for a while. The crust left by the frying of the meat should be taken up by this time. Add the saffron and the turmeric at this stage and mix thoroughly.

When the rice is almost done, add back all the meats, the peas and the chopped coriander leaves. Check for sufficient water. There should only just be enough, otherwise the dish will be watery, which you don't want. Mix through, put the lid on and let the dish simmer for another five minutes. Then turn the heat off and let the dish rest for half an hour. 

Now pour some wine and enjoy a sip or two while the dish rests. Then dig in! 

Bon appetit!

Authored by Johan Zietsman
Last updated on 2013-01-03

Hot Chilli Pork With Stir Fry Vegetable Noodles

Just the other day I realised that I haven't made this dish for ages. In fact, the last time was about two years ago. My journey into the world of proper food has certainly taken me along a new path!

So, after a short discussion with the missus, the decision was made. Time for a decent stir-fry dish again.

This dish may be cooked on board, buth one needs to look at the sequence and the conditions at sea. The preparation may take some time. However, it is a very good pastime for idle shipmates to help and have a decent conversation to boot!

I used to make this one in my braai-skottel out of doors. This skottel has  fallen out of use since our relocation to the little town of Strand. This recipe is adapted from a stock standard Chinese recipe for stir-fried pork. It also works very well for chicken and extremely well for turkey. I also cut off all the fat and, in the case of using chicken, I cut off the skin.

The turkey which I am unable to locate locally, except for a whole bird, complete with the requisite chemical basting juices injected, ready for the oven. This recipe calls for de-boned, non basted meat. Wholesome, unadulterated meat.

There is no special addition of salt in this dish. The soy sauce takes care of all of the salt. I use the light soy sauce because I am told it contains less salt.

The preparation of the ingredients takes up more time than to cook the dish. This recipe will render at least four decent helpings. I use the cheapest cuts of pork that I can find, then remove the fat and bones at home. Sometimes you get pork cut up into strips ready for a stir fry at the same price as other cuts. Wonders never cease.

Ingredients

1 kg de-boned pork or chicken. This time I used pork.
¾ cup of cornflour (Maizena)
2 medium sized eggs
1 Thai, Jalapeno or medium heat chilli or ½ a Habanero with the pips removed. Chopped finely.

For the glazing sauce

¼ cup red wine vinegar
¼ cup soy sauce
¼ cup sugar or golden syrup

For the vegetable noodles

1 small Chinese/baby cabbage
½ large or 1 medium onion
2 spring onions, chopped
½ cup fresh mushrooms, chopped
2 medium carrots, julienne'd. This for the looks!
½ cup of fresh sprouts. Any sprouts
Some baby corn heads
some mangetout
¼ bell pepper, chopped
Depending on the number of servings, you may also use some cauliflower, broccoli and baby marrows. You can also add some rehydrated dried mushrooms. They tend to add to the flavour.
4 squares instant noodles
¼ teaspoon white pepper
½ teaspoon garlic, chopped and minced
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, chopped and minced
¼ cup soy sauce
Some freshly ground black pepper
Olive oil for frying

Process

Get the water for the noodles on the boil and boil the noodles. This takes the longest and gets used last, so it starts first.

 

For The Pork

Mix the corn flour and the eggs until you have the consistency of a thick batter. Dump all the pork in there after you have cut it up into small strips. Ensure all the meat is covered in the batter. Heat some oil in the pan. I used my Le Creuset buffet casserole, as I was cooking indoors. Add the meat to a medium to hot pan and fry until the outside of the meat is nice and brown. The cornflour will make this easy. Remove the browned meat from the pan and keep to one side. Add some oil and fry the chopped chilli in the oil for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Add the meat back to the pan and mix thoroughly. Now add the glazing sauce which is the mix of vinegar, soy sauce and sugar.
Stir continuously until the sauce has thickened enough for your taste, then remove the meat from the pan and keep it warm. I used another Le Creuset saucepan for this, as it keeps the heat nicely in, although the saucepan is still cold.

 

For The Vegetable Stir Fry

Add some oil to the pan. Fry the white pepper, ginger and garlic for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Then add all the vegetables en masse. Stir fry this lot until the vegetables are al dente, then add the cooked noodles. Mix this lot thoroughly, then add the quarter to half cup of soy sauce. This will give some flavour and add the requisite salt to the dish.

Voila, the deed is done!
Heat the meat, if necessary, before dishing up.

Bon appetit!

















Authored by Johan Zietsman
Last updated on 2013-06-29

2nd Leg Day 24: Sweetcorn Rye Loaf, Navigation and Sweet & Sour Fish

Today the wind returned and we are able to motor sail. The wind is not that strong yet.

Dawid started coastal navigation lessons yesterday and got some homework, which he actually did. We reviewed it this morning. Another tutorial or three and he will be ready to do his practical work for real when we pass Barbados and reach the Windward Islands.

He followed on by preparing, kneading and baking his second loaf. A rye loaf with sweetcorn, as was his wont. He is turning out to be a real student. His surname is Schoeman, Dutch for shoemaker, but we are considering to change it to Bakker, Dutch for baker. However, with the navigation lessons also progressing nicely we need to think up a new pseudonym for him. Perhaps Dawid the Charter. Or perhaps Dawid the Plotter. The options remain open for the time. For Renier we have reserved the title Numero UNO, after his unbeatable performance to date.

Sweetcorn Rye Loaf

Ingredients

3 cups rye flour

2 cups white bread flour

1 cup brown bread flour

1 can sweetcorn

2 teaspoons salt

1 packet instant yeast

1 ½ – 2 cups lukewarm water. The quantity will depend on how much moisture comes from the sweetcorn. This dough will be quite soft and may soak up additional flour from the kneading board.

Process

Mix all the dry ingredients together, then add the sweetcorn. Mix thoroughly, then add some of the water. Keep on mixing and adding water until the dough becomes too stiff to mix with a ladle, then turn the dough out onto the floured kneading board. Knead until the dough gets smooth. Then wet the surface and cover the dough to rise. Put the dough in a nice and warm place to rise for an hour or two until it at least doubled in size. Anywhere on the boat will do today, as it is hellishly hot.

After the dough has risen to the requisite volume, turn it out onto the kneading board and knead it back to the original volume. Shape the loaf and leave to rest for another 20 minutes. Cut 3/8 to ½ inch (1 cm) cuts into the top of the loaf to allow even expansion in the oven. Put the loaf in the cold oven, switch on the heat to 190ºC/375ºF and bake the loaf for 40 minutes. Then turn the heat off and leave the loaf in the oven for another twenty minutes. Remove from the oven and leave to cool on a rack for fifteen minutes, then hold back the crowds before they devour it all at once!

This was Dawid's second loaf, so we kept it simple yeastwise with a variation on the ingredients and some slight complication in the quantity of water. It worked out well enough.

We are now just under 500 miles from the island of Barbados and just a tad over 800 miles from St Maarten. The weather is still holding up and we have resumed our sports fishing activities. The fish, however, has not yet.

Today was my turn at the galley again. I made sweet and sour fish with savoury rice. I exchanged dinner ingredients with Renier, who has an aversion to fish. He will eat it only when prepared in an edible way that disguises the fish taste.

Sweet and Sour Fish with Savoury Rice

Ingredients

For the fish

400 g deboned fish fillets, cut into thumb size pieces

1 dessertspoon green masala (Recipe here)

1 dessertspoon dry fish masala powder

1 teaspoon cumin powder

½ hot chili, chopped

1 onion, chopped

1 teaspoon salt

Dollop of cooking oil

The fish itself has a mild flavour, so be careful with too harsh ingredients

For the glazing sauce

¼ cup vinegar

2 dessertspoons water

2 dessertspoons sweet chili sauce

2 dessertspoons sugar

For the rice

1¼ cup brown and wild rice mix

1 teaspoon aniseed seeds

1 small piece cinnamon bark

½ teaspoon saffron essence

1 cardamom pod, shelled

1½ teaspon salt

1½ cups water. Enough to cook the rice without having to rinse it.

Process

Marinate the fish in the green masala for 30 minutes. Fry the chopped onions in the dollop of oil until they go brown, then add the chopped chili. Fry these for a minute, then add the marinated fish cubes and the cumin powder. Fry the fish cubes until they are nicely done, then add the glazing sauce made from the vinegar, sweet chili sauce, sugar and water. Simmer this until the sauce has the required thickness, which may be almost caramelised. Then remove from the heat and leave to rest until the rice is done.

The rice can be set to boil before the fish is started. Add all the ingredients to a saucepan and bring to the boil. Simmer until the rice is nice and tender. Be careful not have too much water, lest you end up with a batch of watery rice. You can add a little water every now and then.

Dish up when everything is done to your taste.

I served this with a coleslaw as it is a fitting accompaniment to the main dish in these hot conditions.

Coleslaw

1½ cup finely chopped cabbage

1 cup mix of fresh sprouts. I had lentils, mung beans and fenugreek sprouts.

½ finely chopped carrot

½ chopped onion

½ cup raisins

½ hot chili, chopped.

3 dessertspoons mayonnaise.

All mixed and cooled.





Bon appetit!









This blog also linked to Yeastspotting!

Authored by Johan Zietsman
Last updated on 2012-12-12