Thai Fishcakes Take 1

OMG… 2014… I only made one entry? I've been productive in the kitchen, but nothing is leaving experimental stage. Everything has been off, and it just left me in a slump. Only thing that is going on in my life that has gotten me interested and not in total slump is that my plumeria cuttings are actually growing, and that my Aloha Lily bulbs are growing too (they look like tiny pineapples before they fully mature and bloom)!

Anyhoo~ I was in Chinatown, rummaging through a little tiny bookstore… and found a book on how to cook Thai food. Which had me remember about a little Thai restaurant, that closed long time ago, that served these amazing fried fish cakes. My family had tried to recreate it but with no success. Back to the little bookstore, I flipped through the pages and saw a picture of the fried fish cakes… it looked exactly like the ones I had in the restaurant! I dislike frying food because of the oily feeling after frying and the popping oil burns, and the overall mess in the end. But I have to try this!

I credit the book 爱上cc老师的泰国菜 for it. But wait… why is the title of the entry "take 1"? Well.. because your's truly here did not have the time to better research what "red curry paste" that the chef meant in the cookbook. So I used Patak's (an Indian brand) red curry paste. It did not do much to the fish cake's end result in terms of flavor, just a slightest hint of basic curry flavor. Neither did it provide that distinct redness. Next time I redo this recipe, I will definitely try using red curry paste that is used in Thai dishes. Just to see if there is any differences. Also! Another little note… I hand diced the fish meat and squid/cuttlefish meat into a paste. Also… you have to literally splat the fish-squid paste mix till it is sticky and has a slight bounce to it. It is going to take a while, but it is worth it. So ladies, if you want a good shoulder exercise… and/or have some pent up anger... this is the dish. But if you have a food processor, go for it. My family says that the texture is better if made into a paste by hand. In terms of making them into patties... if you form them by hand then fry it, it will have a light airy chewy texture. If you form them using a spoon then fry it, you'd end up packing it, pushing out the air, thus turning the end product into a hard dense chewy product.

Back four are hand-formed, and the front six are spoon-formed

Ingredients:
300g (about 1.5 lb) red snapper fillet
150g (about 1/3 lb) fresh squid or cuttlefish
8 pieces Chinese long beans, chopped into thin rounds
6 pieces Kaffir lime leaves, really finely chopped
1 egg
1/4 cup corn starch
1/2 tsp baking soda
1.5 tbsp red curry paste
1 tsp fish sauce
1 tbsp cooking rice wine (I used Shao Hing cooking wine)
1/2 tsp white pepper powder
Oil for frying (use peanut oil or canola oil)

How-To:
- Chop and mince into a paste for both the fish fillet and squid/cuttlefish. Put into a big bowl for mixing.
- Into same bowl, add in the chopped long bean, egg, finely chopped lime leaves, fish sauce, corn starch, baking soda, curry paste, cooking rice wine, and white pepper powder.
- Mix everything until well incorporated.
- Now scoop up that blob with your hands, and just throw it down into the bowl like your angry at something! (Screaming "YAHHHHH!" helps, and having someone else take a little turn helps too.)
- Once the blob has a slight bounce to touch, it is ready to be made into a patty. First clean your hands, and wet them to make the patties. This will prevent the sticky mixture from turning your hands into club hands.
- Heat oil over medium-high heat. Once the frying oil is ready (test with a bamboo chopstick for rapid bubbles, sign that it is ready), drop a few patties into the oil. It will puff up a little as it fry. You can gently press the puff down to draw out the moisture. Fry until golden brown.
- Remember to place fried products onto a well-lined plate to draw out excess oil.
- Serve with a sweet vinegar sauce, or a sweet chili sauce.

I wish I tried the sauce recipe that accompanied the fishcakes in the book. May be next time. But I used a sweet chili sauce (Mae Ploy brand), it was just as good. Great for parties. Enjoy everyone!

Wintertime means Kimchi time: Radish and Napa Cabbage

Okay, so with back-to-back holidays, filling-in for my manager for 2 weeks, and just wanting to make time for myself... yes... I ignored this blog for a bit. So, I'm sorry. To make up for it, I'm putting up 2 recipes. Both... kimchi related: Kakdugi (radish kimchi) and Kimchi (napa cabbage kimchi).

Super long post time!

Something about wintertime and the season for napa cabbage harvesting, I really thought about kimchi. I remember some of my friends tell me to make kimchi... I didn't get why then, I didn't really like kimchi then either... two words: Kimchi Breath. But... I had a change of heart with this winter season's super cold weather and seeing so much napa cabbage on sale in the markets.

My family loves kimchi. The spicy kick. The garlicky aroma. A bite of something savory, while enjoying the veggie's sweetness. My cousin, oldest of two, discovered how delicious it is over a simple bowl of hot, fluffy white rice. My uncle and my cousin likes this one place on Geary St, their kimchi is fresh, sweet, crunchy, and a bit spicy. It was more or less recently, my uncle said, "Man, I think making kimchi would be cheaper than constantly purchasing it." So... I bit the bullet and said, "I'll try to make kimchi."

*A lot of referencings (image and step by step) will be from Maangchi.

I basically followed the recipe to Maangchi's Napa Cabbage Kimchi. I like her pic-by-pic on how to prep kimchi through her Easy Kimchi Recipe, as well. The only difference I did from her's is that I totally omitted the raw oyster/squid. My family is very cautious about cholesterol, and seafood is always red flagged. But overall, the taste is still the same. My recipe will make about 6 liters of kimchi (yeah, I went out and got a 12 liter kimchi container at the Korean market, JUST for making kimchi), and lunchbox-size of kakdugi.

* Mimi's Tip: How to pick a good napa cabbage. *
I use to pick one that is huge and green. WRONG! Turns out, it isn't how green it is, but how yellow it is. Yellow leaves mean young tender leaves. Very much like the inner core of the napa cabbage. So pick one that has more yellow-green leaves. As few blemishes like dark spots/"freckles". Tight leaves. Make sure that the head of cabbage has a good weight to it. You should be good to go. If all else fails, you can totally ask the workers in the produce section to help. I give 2 thumbs up for the super great help from the guy in the Korean market.

Not exactly the best shot, but dang was it good.

Ingredients:

5 large heads of napa cabbage (quartered into wedges)

1 small Korean radish; 1/4 julienned (3/4 cubed reserved for Kakdugi)

1 medium carrot; peeled and julienned

2 bunch asian chives; cut into about 2" sections

1 bunch green onion; cut into about 2" sections

1 small onion

1 handful of garlic

1 cup Mochiko

3 - 4 cups water

1/2 cup sugar (plain white granulated)

1 cup fish sauce

Lots of sea salt/kosher salt (I used sea salt, it didn't turn out salty, just a light taste)

3 - 4 cups hot pepper flakes (I use Wang: Maewoon Gochu Gaaroo)

How-To:

Salting Napa Cabbage:

- Clean, trim, and quarter napa cabbages. In a large bowl/roasting pan, start salting EACH leaf. Let stand for about 1hour and 30 minutes, rotating each wedge of cabbage every 30 minutes.

- Once time is up, rinse out each wedge of cabbage under cold water. Takes about 3 washes to get the salt out. Squeeze out the excess water. Set aside to dry a bit.

Kimchi Paste: 

- In a food processor, puree garlic and onion.

- In a medium pot, cook Mochiko with water and sugar until thickened (about glue-consistancy).

- In a large bowl, pour out garlic-onion puree and Mochiko mix.

- Add in julienned carrots and radish. 

- Add chives, green onions. 

- Add hot pepper flakes.

- Add fish sauce.

- Mix everything in the bowl.

Napa Cabbage Kimchi:

- Strap on some gloves and roll up your sleeves! Its time to apply a good smear of the kimchi paste mix to the cabbage... LEAF BY LEAF! Put each freshly "painted" cabbage wedge into an airtight container. Make sure to place each wedge tightly together, and to press out as much air out of the kimchi mass. You want to make sure that there is no pockets of air that can have bad bacteria form during fermentation.

- Eat right away, or you can put a layer of plastic wrap on the kimchi to cover it for more protection and refrigerate to ferment. 

...

Great, do you have some leftover kimchi paste? Remember that reserved bit of radish?

As soon as I finished making it, it was eaten up.

How-To:

Salting Radish:
- Cube leftover radish.
- In a bowl, sprinkle with enough salt help draw out the extra water in the radish cubes. Toss to coat evenly.
- Wait about 1 - 1.5 hours, stirring the radish every 30 minutes.
- Rinse out under cold water, about 3 washes to take out the saltiness.

Kakdugi/Radish Kimchi:
-In a clean airtight container, pour leftover Kimchi Paste over radish. Mix. Eat right alway or put into fridge to ferment.

Done. That's it. Pretty easy overall. The hardest part is the wait time during the salting process. I had a lot of fun making it.  Fresh kimchi is sweet and crunchy. Fermented kimchi spicier, bit saltier, while still crunchy. I hope you guys try your hands on making your own kimchi. Enjoy!

A quick tropical vacation: Lomi Lomi Salmon

Hey everyone! Long time no post... Been busy and lazy all the same time. But I'm back! With a new recipe to share!

Its been hot in the Bay Area lately! What sup with that? But no matter... Because I have a recipe that is pretty good for the hot weather. Since my Summer Break is all devoted to work, I can only dream for a vacation. So what good way to go on a vacation without having to pack my bags? Food! =D

I've been wanting to go somewhere tropical... and I suddenly thought, "Why not Hawaii?" Food Network and Travel Channel has been showing non-stop programs about Hawaii. So why not?

I super thank my friend Phil for introducing me to the Hawaiian dish, Lomi Lomi. I loved it the first time I tried it. (^-^) I didn't get the recipe from my friend, but from Hawaii for Visitors. I think my friend used smoked salmon, which works just fine and is just as delicious! But knowing me... I went the extra mile and made my OWN salted salmon. I warn though... Be careful about your salting if you plan to salt your own salmon. I used Palm Island: White Silver Sea Salt . I used one whole pack on a small fillet, about 1 pound and 1 inch thick more or less, salted for about 24 hours, and it got quite salty. But I'll write my process in the How-To section.

When selecting your salmon, make sure it does not have that stinky fishy smell. Fresh fish should not have that fishy smell.

There isn't much to say... other than... if you want a quick get-away to the tropics, try this recipe.

What is left of my Lomi Lomi after my family had it for dinner.

Ingredients:

1 - 1.5 pounds Salmon fillet (All works fine: Sockeye, Copper River, Wild caught, or Farmed)

1 small onion (a sweet white onion, red onion... and if you are lucky, Maui onion)
2 - 4 ripe tomatoes
1 - 2 stalk green onion
salt (kosher or sea salt)

How-To:

DIY salting salmon:
- Skin the salmon fillet, and wash throughly.
- Gently run finger over fillet to feel for bones. Pluck it out with tweezers or a pair of pliers.
- Pat dry fillet throughly with paper towel.
- In a glass casserole dish, line with plastic wrap.
- Place fillet in dish, and pour enough salt on it.
- Message salt into fillet on both sides. Make sure all sides of fish is covered in salt.
- Take the plastic wrap and fold all the sides over the fillet.
- Using a heavier pan, weigh it on the fillet, and place into refrigerator.
- Refrigerate for 8 - 24 hours (depending on desired salt level and fillet's thickness), changing the water every hour or so.
- After a 8 - 24 hours, rinse fillet throughly.
* If salmon is too salty, soak fillet in cold water for 3 - 4 hours.

Lomi Lomi:
- Chop onion into tiny pieces.
- Seed and chop tomatoes into tiny pieces.
- Chop green onion, white and green parts!
- Chop salted salmon into tiny bite size pieces.
- In a large bowl, dump everything in and MIX!!!
- Best served chilled.

Aside from the salting process, the actual putting-together process of the dish is SUPER EASY. It taste good chilled. But if you pre-make the dish and let it sit in the fridge overnight, the salted salmon and onion will mellow out by marrying their taste together. That's what I think though. I really hope you guys will try it. Please enjoy! (^-^)