sel et sucre

Tag: seafood

  • Thai Pumpkin and Salmon Red Curry

    thai pumpkin and salmon red curry

    Pumpkin and salmon might seem like a strange combination, but all doubts will leave your mind once you taste this curry. I first had this curry at Thai X-ing, an amazing DC restaurant, where it was one of a variety of courses on their set menu. While everything there was delicious, this dish in particular stood out and still comes to mind (I spend a lot of time thinking about food). The tender and sweet pumpkin melts into the spicy, creamy, curry sauce, thickening it, and the salmon adds another dimension of richness. This version captured my memory of the dish well and was far easier than I thought it would be to throw together. The most time-consuming part was chopping up the pumpkin (I think what I got was actually a kabocha squash, and it had a particular thick, knobbly skin) and prepping the salmon (it seems to be the trend around here to leave the bones in the fish when selling it). I’ve been eating this curry for just about every meal since I made it, served over quinoa (though rice will be just as good and more authentic), and I’m already planning for when I can make it again.

    (more…)

    Related Posts:

  • Whole Fish with Salsa Verde

    whole fish with salsa verde

    I did something a little blasphemous for the fourth of July this year. I hosted lunch, and I didn’t start up the grill or serve any red meat. It was really hot – the middle of a record-breaking heatwave, as a matter of fact – and I wanted a refreshing seasonal meal. I plucked as many herbs as possible from my garden and served up cucumber mint agua fresca, roasted vegetable quinoa salad, black bean burgers, and this fish (okay, and a little dessert I’ll be posting about on Friday). Nearly any type of fish will work in this simple preparation, packed with flavor from cilantro, scallions, and lime. The resulting dish is definitely refreshing and won’t leave you feeling lethargic on a hot summer day, perfect for my fourth of July meal.

    (more…)

    Related Posts:

  • Crab and Avocado Salad

    crab and avocado salad

    I’m constantly looking at new recipes. I keep a list of all the ones I hope to one day cook, and some recipes, I get to in a couple days or weeks. But some recipes linger on the list for months or even years. Recipes that I added even though they seemed complicated, recipes that I keep skipping over because they feel outside my skill range, some even that I’ve tried and failed in the past. My most satisfying cooking moments are always when I manage to successfully tackle one of those recipes (like my char siu bao). This crab and avocado salad has been sitting on my recipes list for three years. Serving a whole avocado, crusted with spices and stuffed with crab salad, seemed beyond my grasp, the technique of getting the crab inside the avocado too confusing, the variety of spices for crusting too extravagant. But recently, I found myself with crab and avocado in my grocery cart, and I knew I had to make this. It all fell together as I put my own twist on the recipe, adding in Asian flavors with soy sauce, sesame oil, and masago, using my own variety of seeds and spices, and just having fun making it. Afterwards, cutting into my creation, I felt an amazing sense of accomplishment. Another recipe conquered.

    (more…)

    Related Posts:

  • Ginger Shiitake Salmon

    ginger shiitake salmon

    Growing up, I never liked salmon. Coming from a kid who loved lima beans and chicken liver, this probably seems really strange, and I can’t say exactly why I had bad associations with this classic fish. Perhaps I’d had it overcooked or under-seasoned, but whatever the reason for my previous dislike, I’ve since changed my mind. Salmon is a delicious and easy to prepare fish, and this particular method is no exception. The salmon is sprinkled with coriander (which seemed strange to me at first, but I quickly realized the lemony notes are the perfect pairing) and then broiled before being topped with a glaze including bell pepper, mushroom, ginger, and honey. The flavors work wonderfully (I can never resist anything Asian influenced!), and since the whole dish only took about half an hour to throw together, I could easily see myself serving this up for guests. And it doesn’t hurt that it looks gorgeous too!

    (more…)

    Related Posts:

  • Pomegranate Curry Shrimp

    pomegranate curry shrimp

    Ever since making my Sri Lankan curry powder, I’ve been keeping my eyes open for recipes to use up the extra curry leaves I’d popped in the freezer. When I saw this recipe using curry leaves and pomegranate molasses (one of my favorite kitchen staples), I knew I had to try it. So when I accidentally bought shrimp too far in advance for planned shrimp cocktails (d’oh!), it was the perfect opportunity to give this recipe a shot. The flavors came together spectacularly (and quickly), and this dish made a perfect light dinner served atop a salad, although I think it would also be well-suited as an appetizer. I didn’t have a chance to grab a pomegranate, but I think the fresh seeds would take this over the top with an extra burst of color and flavor.

    (more…)

    Related Posts:

  • Blackened Catfish

    blackened catfish

    I’m notoriously bad at quick meals; I joke that for me, cooking bacon and eggs takes an hour (what can I say, both do better cooked low and slow!). Often when I’m making a dish for the first time, I make changes that end up increasing the cooking time – a half hour caramelizing onions, an extra fifteen minutes toasting and grinding my own spices, and so on. But I don’t always have a few hours to cook dinner, so when I find a recipe that I can cook in under half an hour and that tastes delicious, I know it’s one I need to hold onto. And, as I’ve mentioned recently, I’ve been trying to cook more seafood, so I’m doubly glad to add this blackened catfish recipe to my repertoire. With only four ingredients (and that’s counting salt and vegetable oil!), simple is the name of the game here, focusing on the fresh flavor of the fish and the nuances of my homemade Cajun spice mix (but feel free to use your favorite store-bought cajun spice mix instead). Sticking with simplicity, I served this fish up with some quick sauteed greens, and it made for an amazingly easy and tasty meal.

    (more…)

    Related Posts: