Korean Roast Salmon

[js]
I had bookmarked a page describing a recipe for Korean roasted fish and had wanted to try making it for the longest time.

The recipe calls for a small-ish white-fleshed fish, something like a bass, but everytime I try to make it, the pickings at my usual Asian grocery seemed pretty thin for a white-fleshed fish. I did not want to do this recipe with tilapia, which had going for it its size, which seemed to me the proper size for this recipe.



[js]
One day, I saw a whole sockeye salmon shopping at Costco and decided to get it. I have a weakness for sockeye salmon: it is my favourite type. Seeing it whole (albeit without the head, unfortunately) always gets my heart a-pitter-patter.

Reading over the recipe again, I felt that the boldness of the sauce would go extremely well with the boldness of the sockeye salmon.



[js]
I started by chopping up green onions and mincing garlic and ginger. I added double the garlic in the recipe as I happen to love garlic.

We had some Korean red pepper paste (gochujang) in the fridge and I used that instead of the sambal oelek in the recipe. To compensate, I added a couple teaspoons of white vinegar as the Korean red pepper paste has a thicker, more viscous, deeper flavour than sambal oelek.

Everything else goes into the bowl to be mixed together: Korean coarse red pepper flakes, soy sauce, brown sugar, lemon juice and sesame oil.

One final taste of the sauce to check -- taste! as this is going to be the flavour of the sauce when cooked -- and I started slathering on the sauce on the fish.


pre-oven & post-oven

[js]
I put the fish on a rack as I didn't want it to swim in the sauce. I roasted the fish in an oven for about 40 minutes until slightly underdone as it had about 5-8 minutes to go under the broiler.



We served this with rice, green lettuce leaves, and kimchi.


[js]
This was delicious!

I loved the sweet, mildly spicy, savoury combo of the sauce and it was indeed an exceptional pairing with the flavour of the sockeye salmon. I would have preferred the sauce to be even spicier, and next time I make it, I would probably add a couple of jalapeño peppers for that sprightly spicy greenness.

A perfect bite would have the sauce, with some charring from the broiler, the skin, preferably crispy, and the juicy, moist flesh of the fish.



eatingclub vancouver Korean
Korean Sprouts & Spicy Cold Cucumber Salad
Kimchi Fried Rice, an addiction
Korean Soybean Sprouts Pancake (Kongnamul Jeon)
Korean Pork Bulgogi (with Muu Namul, Kong Namul)
Korean Roast Salmon
Korean Fried Chicken
Korean Sweet Potatoes with Yangnyeom Sauce
Japchae / Jap Chae (Korean Glass Noodles with Vegetables)
Brown Rice Bibimbap (Korean Rice Bowl)
Korean Oxtail Soup (Gom Tang)

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Recipe
Korean Roast Sockeye Salmon
adapted from http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=101987037

4 tbsp Korean coarse red pepper flakses
2 tbsp Gochujang (Korean red pepper paste)
4 tbsp minced garlic
2 tsp minced fresh ginger
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp light brown sugar
2 tsp lemon juice
4 tsp white vinegar
6 stalks green onions, chopped
2 tbsp sesame oil

6 to 8 lbs whole salmon
(or, use fillets or steaks)

Combine all ingredients into a bowl and mix together.

Pat the fish dry. If desired, cut 3 slits into the flesh of the fish across the length of the fish. Place the fish on a rack and slather on the sauce on both sides of the fish. Reserve some for glazing at the end.

Roast in the oven for 35 minutes at 375 degrees until slightly underdone. Glaze the fish with the half of the remaining sauce. Turn on broiler and broil for 5 to 8 minutes until slightly charred on the edges. Flip the fish over and glaze with the remainder of the sauce. Broil for 5 to 8 minutes on this side.

Serve with rice, lettuce, and kimchi.

Jamaican Jerk Chicken and Ribs, with Pineapple Salsa

[ts]
We've actually made jerk quite a number of times already -- chicken, pork tenderloin, ribs -- but this time, I thought to document it!



[ts]
I found this jerk marinade recipe from epicurious quite a while back, and I still use it as a guide. I've included the original recipe below. There I am above, rubbing the marinade onto the ribs.


left: ribs; right: chicken

[ts]
The marinade includes limes, green onions, ginger, allspice, thyme, cinnamon, sugar, salt & pepper, and some vinegar and oil. I also add cloves and nutmeg into the mix (not in the recipe) whenever I make this.

Oh, how could I forget, of course Scotch bonnet peppers go into this as well. However, it's not that easy to find those here, so sometimes I use whatever hot pepper I can get my hands on: habañero, serrano, jalapeño...


grilled jerk chicken

[ts]
We've cooked jerk in the oven, but of course, the best way is on the grill.


grilled jerk ribs

[ts]
Whenever we make jerk, I always make a pineapple salsa as an accompaniment.



[ts]
It's simply like pico de gallo, but with the addition of pineapples. That's pineapples, tomatoes, onions, jalapeño peppers, lime juice, salt and pepper. I try not to make this too hot as it functions as relief should the jerk be very spicy. Our mother loves this pineapple salsa, eating it by itself as a salad!


Jerk ribs and chicken plate

[ts]
We do love our jerk! It's also always very popular during get-togethers, garnering more than a few requests for the recipe. We made these a couple of months ago, and looking at the photos, I want some now!

So, everybody, let's make jerk!

[eatingclub] vancouver Jamaican
Jamaican Jerk Chicken and Ribs, with Pineapple Salsa
Jamaican Oxtail Stew

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Recipe
Jamaican Jerk Chicken
from epicurious.com
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Jamaican-Jerk-Chicken-11115
1/2 cup white vinegar
zest and juice of 4 limes
1/4 cup vegetable oil
6 scallions, trimmed and coarsely chopped
3 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
2 Scotch bonnet peppers, seeded and chopped
1 1/2-inch piece ginger, peeled and chopped
2 tablespoons ground allspice
2 tablespoons ground thyme
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 pounds chicken thighs
print a shopping list for this recipe

1. In a food processor or blender, combine the vinegar, lime zest, lime juice, vegetable oil, scallions, garlic, Scotch bonnet peppers, ginger, allspice, thyme, cinnamon, sugar, black pepper, salt, and cayenne pepper. Purée until smooth.

2. Place chicken pieces in a medium bowl. Pour marinade over chicken, and turn the pieces to coat. Cover, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or overnight if possible.

3. Heat the oven to 350°F. Place the chicken pieces on a foil-lined baking sheet and cook until the juices run clear when pierced with a two-pronged fork, 30 to 45 minutes.


big stack o'ribs

Blueberry Yogurt Smoothie, Blueberry Calpis, Blueberry Calamansi Juice

[ts]
As mentioned, we had 4 pounds plus 8 small containers of blueberries in the house. The easiest thing to do right away, besides eating them as is, was to make blueberry drinks.

This was during an extremely hot week in Vancouver (as opposed to the 13-degrees Celsius "summer" weather we've also been having), so we wanted something cold and fast!

I threw in some yogurt (incidentally enough, it had "fruit on the bottom", the fruit being blueberry), ice, blueberries, and a touch of milk and buzzed away!



[ts]
I was also thinking of the "blueberry lemonade" we had at Nu, which was a carbonated drink. (See photo by tinybites.ca.)

For my carbonated drink, I thought, why not use Calpis?

Calpis is a Japanese drink with a similar taste as Yakult, a very light, "yogurt-y" flavor. I actually wanted a stronger Calpis taste in my drink, but the Calpis Soda that I bought was more soda-y that anything else.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calpis
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yakult

My vision was a milky-white drink with ripples of dark purple from the blueberries. I set about making a quickie blueberry syrup.

I placed some blueberries in a small bowl, added a squeeze of lemon juice and a touch of sugar, and microwaved the whole lot for a few seconds (30 seconds to a minute or so) until the blueberries were saucy. I then used the hand blender to purée the mixture.

I drizzled the syrup into my Calpis, excited about my purple ripples, but the entire drink changed color!



[ts]
I was determined to try again. But, disaster ensued!

I was quickly rinsing the hand blender head and yes, it was still plugged in. You may now use your imagination at this point.

The result was three cuts on my left index finger: one deep one, and two smaller ones.

I quickly rinsed my finger and placed a bandage on the triple cuts. That large one was oozing and oozing blood, I tell you.

I tried to make my rippled drink, but it was not to be. This still looks pretty, right? A little bit?



[ts]
Since I already had my blueberry sauce out, I decided to make another drink, this time with calamansi juice.

I added just the teensiest amount of blueberry syrup. Instead of a purple drink, this one was a nice red.



[ts]
So there you have it, 3 quick blueberry drinks great for hot weather.

But, it seems I barely made a dent in our blueberry stock! We thought of three other things we could do with blueberries, but only had time to make one of them before having to leave. Stay tuned.



[ts]
We received a lot of information about blueberries from the BC Blueberry Council. You can read all about blueberries on their website: BC Blueberries

Other blueberry posts on [eatingclub] vancouver: click here.

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Nori-wrapped Pork Rolls

[ts]
My smart idea of writing copy for a few posts while on the plane backfired on me, it seems, as the laptop I used is now currently in the hands of our father. Hence, my text is inaccessible at this time.

So, I had to fast-track these nori-wrapped pork rolls so that we'd have something to post!

This is a Chinese dish that we could've submitted to Regional Recipes if this post wasn't so late.

[js]
This was one of the recipes that have gotten away.

I remember Yaya used to make some sort of nori-wrapped pork, but she didn't make it that often. She must have only started making it later in her career and we didn't stay to enjoy the dish.



[js]
Yaya did include a recipe for nori-wrapped pork in the little green duo-tang she gave TS when we asked for her recipes. I believe it was a photocopy from a Pei Mei cookbook my mother had for the longest time. This is the same duo-tang housing her greatest hits: Golden Egg Torta, Philippine Hamburger, Philippine Pork "BBQ" and Chicken "BBQ".

about Fu Pei Mei
http://www.flavorandfortune.com/dataaccess/article.php?ID=379
http://tofuwatch.com/2009/07/decades-later-fu-pei-meis-chinese-recipes-particularly-tofu-still-inspire-who-was-she/

Pei Mei cookbooks

[js]
Given I was in a time crunch (again!), I must have read the recipe and decided to just wing it with the pork filling this time around.



[js]
I started with approximately a pound of ground pork, added in some chopped green onions, and some roasted and ground Sichuan peppercorns. A teaspoon of minced ginger and a couple of minced garlic, some soy sauce, a dash of sesame oil, a pinch of sugar, and the mixture was ready to roll.



[js]
We had some seasoned seaweed (grilled laver with grapeseed oil, it said on the package) and I started trying to spread the mixture over each piece.

Instead of pan-frying, I put them rolled pieces in a baking pan that has been greased with some canola oil and baked them for approximately 25 minutes. They did cook quite quick.



[ts]
The baking method was definitely easier, but if you prefer a crispier nori shell, then pan-frying would be the way to go.


Here is a slice close-up.
No, it's not still raw. When not browned, ground pork tends to have a pinkish hue.

[ts]
I love nori, so I was all over this. In fact, I believe I have made this dish once before, when I was oh-so-young and not very experienced in the kitchen at all. I recall mine needed a bit more seasoning, but it was all good as this dish actually takes ketchup as a condiment! You can eat it with or without; it's delicious either way.

Of course, we ate it with rice, but I imagine that one could serve these as hors d'oeuvres.



More:
[eatingclub] vancouver Chinese

Yaya's Greatest Hits
Philippine-style Hamburger
Philippine Pork "BBQ"
Philippine Chicken "BBQ"
Golden Egg Torta

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Recipe
Nori-wrapped Pork Rolls
idea from Pei Mei's recipe; pork filling is our own

Makes 5 rolls

1 pound ground pork
2 stalks green onion, chopped (finely, if you'd like)
1 tbsp roasted and ground Sichuan peppercorns
1 tsp minced ginger
2 tsp minced garlic
1 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp brown sugar
1 egg

Mix all ingredients together until it comes to a smooth paste-like consistency. Spread over nori sheet thinly, as evenly as you can.

Roll and seal the ends. Bake on a greased pan, in a 350 degree oven, for 25 to 30 minutes or until done.

(Or, pan-fry each roll, rolling them occasionally so all sides are cooked.)

Slice into pieces. The rolls can be served with ketchup, or similar condiment.

Pork Jowl (Pork Cheeks) with Brown Sugar Rub

[ts]
I'm quite amazed that we're actually posting entries while away! Again, I did the photo processing just before going, then wrote the copy on the plane.

This dish is dedicated to Christina of Doesn't TaZte Like Chicken.

JS and I had dimsum one day with Christina and ET (of Doesn't TaZte Like Chicken), and Ben and Suanne (of Chowtimes). Christina picked the place: Top Gun J&C Restaurant.

We all agreed that we should order "unusual" items, and not the standard dimsum fare like har gow, siu mai, etc. So, we left it in Christina's capable hands.

One of the dishes was pork jowl (also called pork cheek), sliced into pieces. This led to a discussion of what we would do to such a jowl if we should buy one, seeing as we all haven't tried cooking it before.

We didn't think too much about this discussion. In fact, I believe Christina may have ordered the dish again to take home!

But, we happened to go to T&T later that afternoon, and along with our usual meats and produce, decided to get a packet of pork jowl after seeing its alluring self on the shelf.



[ts]
It's "polished", they say! I don't know what that means.

The small packet came with two pieces of meat. As you can see, this is not inexpensive.

But, look at the fat! Nice, eh?



[ts]
As an idea, Christina mentioned curing the meat, then roasting it and basting it with Korean barbeque sauce. I was too lazy to make anything too complicated, so I decided to take our beloved longganisa flavors and add a little Chinese twist.



[ts]
I made a little wet rub of brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, grated garlic, and a touch of Maggi seasoning. My little "Chinese twist" is merely the addition of sesame oil.

The cheeks marinated in this mixture (it wasn't not really a cure) for about two days. Then, for ease of cooking, I decided to pan-fry them.



[ts]
The pork jowls shrunk!

I sliced the jowl pieces in an angle, copying the presentation at the restaurant to the best of my memory.



[ts]
The dish was quite tasty, although it could have used a tad more salt to balance the sugar.

Like at Top Gun J&C, the texture of our pork jowl was interesting. It was meaty and yet there was also a "crunchiness" to the meat, I think from the fat, strange as it sounds.

I can imagine this cut very nice slightly smoked, so maybe we'll try that next time.



[ts]
So, Christina, this is what we did with pork jowl. =)

More:
[eatingclub] vancouver Chinese

Our Regional Recipes posts:
Greek Meatball Soup (Giouvarlakia)
Simmered Saba Mackerel with Daikon Radish (Saba Oroshi-ni)
Thai Fried Chicken
Roast Pork Belly with Puy Lentils
Beef "Ribbon" Kebab (Pasanda Kabab) with Cilantro Chutney
Canadian Onion Soup with Oka Cheese
Muffuletta
Börek with Beef Filling
Korean Pork Bulgogi (with Muu Namul, Kong Namul)
Lobster Congee from a Lobster Feast
Pork Jowl (Pork Cheeks) with Brown Sugar Rub
Beef Salpicao
Cuban Arroz con Salchichas (Yellow Rice with Vienna Sausages)
Cuban Pastelitos de Guayaba y Queso (Guava and Cheese Pastries)
Vietnamese Spring Roll (Cha Gio)
Grilled Fish Fillet on Oregano
Pastéli (Greek Sesame Snaps)

Enjoyed this post? Why not subscribe to our blog? Subscribe via reader or subscribe via email. Thank you!

We're submitting this to Regional Recipes, a blogging event created by Blazing Hot Wok that celebrates food from all over the world.

The region for this edition is China. The round-up will be hosted at Blazing Hot Wok and will be posted around/after August 20.

Regional Recipes information

Lobster Congee from a Lobster Feast

[ts]
This entry for Regional Recipes is a tad late, but I think we deserve an A for effort seeing as I am currently writing the copy (text) for this post on board an airplane! I would have to consolidate photos and text at a later time.

Oh, this is not an airplane. It's actually an "airbus", and I must say, I didn't realize thay can make a plane this small. It's unbelievably small -- or tight, I should say -- even for a short person such as myself!

Anyway, back to the food.

We had originally thought that we would miss this edition of Regional Recipes, but after some last-minute photo processing on my part (after weeks of being too busy to do any), I discovered that we did make something Chinese after all! In fact, if we weren't so tardy, we can actually submit three Chinese dishes.


lobsters boiling

[js]
My father mentioned a craving for lobsters and I am only too happy to oblige.

Not knowing how to choose live lobsters (or crabs, for that matter), I asked the seafood counter man at the supermarket to choose me three good lobsters.

They weren't on sale at that point and I probably paid $8.99 or something like that per pound, but that is better than paying $16 or 19 per pound if we chose to have lobsters at a restaurant.

The only problem was that we couldn't or wouldn't be able to cook the lobsters any other way but for boiling them straight up. We couldn't stir-fry the lobsters with green onions and ginger, for example, because we had no way of breaking them into pieces before they were cooked.

In the end, though, everything ends well, I suppose, because my father wanted lobsters cooked that simply.


the B breaking down the lobsters

[ts]
That's the B there, of Hong Ba (Red-Braised Pork Hock) fame, chopping up the lobster pieces. Thanks, the B!

Lobster Feast

Nope, these aren't lobsters. These are prawns!

[ts]
The next photo is not for the faint of heart, as the table looks a tad busy. But, there it is, our feast.



1. rice
2. lobster
3. lobster
4. spot prawns
5. Cantonese "roast pig" (courtesy of the B & family)
6. cherries
7. garlic butter
8. lobster
9. roast chicken legs
10. soy dipping sauce
11. okra stew
12. melted butter

We had lobster, prawns, pork, chicken, vegetables and fruits!

Lobster Congee


[js]
We had actually thought of making lobster congee while we were still in the midst of our feast. In fact, everybody at the table was already mentioning how good lobster congee is going to be.



[ts]
The next day, I placed the lobster shells in a pot with water to make stock. Then, I painstakingly removed any remaining flesh from the lobster remnants.


left: pre-shredded meat; right: shredded lobster meat

Method
No recipe needed here.



[ts]
We prepped some green onions for later. To start the congee, we simply sautéed some ginger pieces in some sesame oil, then added our rice, then the lobster stock.

We let the mixture come to a boil, then simmered the pot until the rice was cooked. We were a little off in our rice:liquid ratio, so we ended up adding more water near the end.



We seasoned with a little salt and the littlest amount of soy sauce. The lobster meat went in, then green onions.


tomalley

Oh, it's a strictly add-your-own-tomalley kind of affair, as not everybody is into tomalley.

Ta-da!



[js]
I daresay, when TS was making the lobster broth, I found the smell more intoxicating than the lobsters themselves.

To everybody's satisfaction, the resulting lobster congee was quite delicious. It had such depth of flavour and yet it was light at the same time.

You'd think that the end-all and be-all of lobster is going to be succulent lobster meat dripping with the sauce or condiment of your choice.

Of course, succulent lobster meat is something quite amazing in itself too -- but given this congee, I daresay the broth is where it's at -- this is the essence of lobsters.



eatingclub Hong Kong/Cantonese
Chicken Chow Mein
Cantonese Braised Beef Brisket, Two Ways
Lobster Congee from a Lobster Feast
Chinese Roast Pork Belly
Gailan (Chinese Broccoli) with Oyster Sauce, Two Ways
Chinese Pork Bone Soup with Carrots and Water Chestnuts
Hong Kong-style Curry Cuttlefish
Dimsum Seafood Trio: Black Pearl Prawn Toast, Scallop in Nest, Jewelled Rice Cup
Hong Kong-style Singapore Noodles (星洲炒米)
Hong Kong-style Stir-fried Water Spinach with Shrimp Paste (蝦醬通菜)
Hong Kong-style Stir-fried Rice Noodle with Beef (乾炒牛河)
Sweet and Sour Pork
Hong Kong-style Curry Beef Brisket (咖喱牛腩), 1st Attempt

More:
eatingclub vancouver Chinese

Enjoyed this post? Why not subscribe to our blog? Subscribe via reader or subscribe via email. Thank you!

Our Regional Recipes posts:
Greek Meatball Soup (Giouvarlakia)
Simmered Saba Mackerel with Daikon Radish (Saba Oroshi-ni)
Thai Fried Chicken
Roast Pork Belly with Puy Lentils
Beef "Ribbon" Kebab (Pasanda Kabab) with Cilantro Chutney
Canadian Onion Soup with Oka Cheese
Muffuletta
Börek with Beef Filling
Korean Pork Bulgogi (with Muu Namul, Kong Namul)
Lobster Congee from a Lobster Feast
Pork Jowl (Pork Cheeks) with Brown Sugar Rub
Beef Salpicao
Cuban Arroz con Salchichas (Yellow Rice with Vienna Sausages)
Cuban Pastelitos de Guayaba y Queso (Guava and Cheese Pastries)
Vietnamese Spring Roll (Cha Gio)
Grilled Fish Fillet on Oregano
Pastéli (Greek Sesame Snaps)

We're submitting this to Regional Recipes, a blogging event created by Blazing Hot Wok that celebrates food from all over the world.

The region for this edition is China. The round-up will be hosted at Blazing Hot Wok and will be posted around/after August 20.

Regional Recipes information