Pan-fried salmon with herbs lemon dressing

I went to St. Patrick's Cathedral yesterday at lunchtime hoping to catch its Thursday mass. I know it was like hoping against hope because usually during lenten season the masses are set on a different time. While praying and still hoping for the usual daily 1pm mass, a lady guard quietly approached me and whispered that the church will be closed at 1pm, and so with after I-should-have-known-better moment, I said my thanks giving to the good God and hurriedly ushered myself out of the church, On my way out, as I was about to do my one last glance and prayers towards the altar, I saw a lone person in the corner, the last person left in one of the pews still praying, with his shoulder slumped onwards and quietly praying with his hands clasped together and crying his heart out....His quandary seems to echo within the hallow corners of the majestic Cathedral. The scene has affected me a great deal and as I write this, I can feel my eyes welling up once more. With prayers for my own needs easily discarded, I offered my prayers for that lone person I saw yesterday instead. Where ever he is, whoever he is, may he find peace in his heart and our prayers heard by heavens above.  

There are events, and/or people that affect us in many ways than one in our lives. People come and go in our lives for a reason.  And in many ways than one, we learn from our experiences, they either bring joy  or  sorrow but..."the greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return", (Toulouse-Lautrec, Moulin Rouge). 

So, I lay my head back down

And I lift my hands and pray

To be only yours, I pray, to be only yours

I know now you're my only hope.

*Snagged and tweaked from Guy Grossi's Family Feaster for Good Friday (which I cut out from Woolworth's grocery junk mail)

Ingredients

1 tbsp chopped oregano

1 tbsp chopped parsley

1 tbsp chopped marjoram

1 clove garlic, chopped

Finely grated rind & juice of 1 lemon

100 ml olive oil (extra for cooking, approx 2-3 tbsps)

8X100-150g salmon fillets, or 4 large 200g portions sliced in half

Pinch of salt and twist of ground pepper

Lemon wedges to serve

Method

1. In a small bowl or food processor, whisk together the chopped herbs, garlic, zest, juice and oil. Season to taste.

2. Heat a large fry pan over medium heat, add some oil. Season salmon, cook one side for 2 minutes. Turn salmon over, cook for a further 2 minutes or until cooked to your liking (Oh yes, since I love my salmon crispy and crunchy, I cooked them longer)

3. Drizzle dressing over and serve with lemon wedges.

Fish Pan-Fried with turmeric and dill

A couple of years ago I had the chance to visit Hanoi, Vietnam for work, I was so taken by the oriental beauty of the place, struck by the provencal allure (no fast food centers at that time, not even the perennial McDonalds) and mystified how oriental was infused by colonial french to evolve into one dynamic culture - east meets west of sorts. So much so that I wishfully thought and said, " I won't mind living here you know".  The pagodas were everywhere, an array of colors billowing above your head and truly a shopping haven if you are into chop sticks, bowls and cheong sams. 

Ever heard of be careful what you wish for, it might come true? Fast forward 2008, I was well and truly living in Vietnam! But Ho Chi Minh City this time. My little boy was assigned there for work and when love beckons you, you follow love without any iota of doubt. It was our first home together as husband and wife. Vietnam is a mad mad place to live in. And a place not for the faint hearted indeed. Our Vietnam experience truly deserves a blog entry of its own, so I will segue to this dish entry instead because it reminds me how excellent and exotic the food  repertoire Vietnam has.

If there is one thing I miss about Vietnam?...the food (and the shenanigans it brings from one intake to the another. LOL!)

*Adapted from Luke Nguyen's Vietnam

Ingredients
1kg (2 lb 4 oz) ling fillets (blue marlin would be nice, sword fish is even nicer)
8 spring onions (scallions)
4 garlic cloves
1 tbsp ground turmeric
2 tsp hot curry powder
2 tbsp plain yoghurt ( I didn't have this so I used coconut milk instead)
125ml (4 fl oz/1/2 cup) fish sauce
3 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp vegetable oil
1 bunch dill
250ml (9 fl oz/1 cup) fish stock
1 lemon
300g (101/2 oz) bean sprouts (I didn't have this either)
125g (41/2 oz) rice vermicelli, cooked ( I was too lazy to cook noodles, I cooked jasmine rice instead)

Preparation
Cut the ling fillet into 4cm (11/2 in) pieces, place in a bowl and set aside.

Put the white heads of the spring onions (reserving the stalks) and garlic in a mortar and pound to a paste. Add the turmeric, curry powder, yoghurt, fish sauce, sugar, 2 tablespoons of the oil and a third of the dill, roughly chopped, to the fish and mix well.

Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

Thinly slice 4 of the green spring onion stalks.

Heat a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the remaining oil, then fry the fish fillets on one side for 30 seconds.

Turn the fillets over, add the fish stock and simmer for 3–5 minutes, until the fish is cooked through. Remove the fish and squeeze over the juice from the lemon.

Mix the bean sprouts, sliced spring onion, remaining dill and vermicelli together.

Place into bowls and spoon over the fish fillets and sauce.

Pan-fried Snapper with thai chilli sauce

I cant remember how long I have known this recipe or how often I have made this dish, truth is, it has been served on our table too many times even for our own good. Lol!

What more can I say about this dish but it is really good and just like going back to basics.

Just like when the odds are against us when we go through the motions in our so-called life, or your cooking and baking don't seem to agree with you right this moment, right now or perhaps you just want  things nice and easy then there's nothing like going back to basics.

Bear with me, I am typing the words for this recipe from my memory. :)

What you need:

Red Snapper or any big fish good for frying. :))
2 tablespoons of oil (of your choice, I used olive oil since its healthier)

3 red chillies (those biggies), minced, you can also leave some seeds if you want the sauce hotter

2 teaspoons (or more to taste, just start with 2 teaspoons) Fish sauce

1 tablespoon (or more to taste, just start with 1 tbsp.) Tamarind puree or 100-150g of tamarind fruit soaked in 1 cup of hot water, sieved with seeds removed

3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons (or more to taste, just start with 2 tablespoons) of sugar (  I opted to use honey since its healthier)
1 cup water
few stems of coriander and flat-leaf parsley for garnish

What you need to do:

Deep fry your fish until crunchy. Set aside
While deep frying your fish you can start preparing your thai chilli sauce, oil your pan with 2 tbsps. of oil. When oil is already hot, fry the chillies and brown the garlic. Make sure you don't burn the garlic otherwise the sauce will have a bitter taste. Add fish sauce, sugar (or honey), tamarind puree and 1cup water . If you opted for the real tamarind fruit instead, then add in sieved 1 cup of tamarind juice (tamarind fruits soaked in 1 cup of hot water).  Let sauce boil them remove.

Drizzle your sauce over your deep fried fish then garnish with coriander and flat-leaf parsley.

What's even better is that you have cucumber herbs salad and hot jasmine rice for the company. :))