Pan Roasted Line Caught Halibut with Soy-Lemon Sauce

I guess I'm into a bit of a Ming Tsai mood lately. Again, I saw a recipe that he prepared on Simply Ming which I needed to try. This time I was compelled by the browning then roasting of the fish and cherry tomatoes together. I like starting off in a pan and then finishing up in the oven.

However I has put off from making this because it called for preserved lemons. And of course Ming had a huge jar or preserved lemons with some jalapenos and lemongrass in there... but I was on my own. I couldn't find them at any of the three specialty stores I went to, but read how easy they were to make online. The problem is, they take about a month. It did seem that you could eat them after about a week so I decided to give them a try. I used Claudia Roden's recipe that I found online with Meyer lemons as a basis for mine:

Preserved Lemons
2 meyer lemons
1/3 cup sea salt
1/2 cup lemon juice

Scrub lemons very well and then cut up the long way into 8 wedges each (you eat the rind so make sure to clean them good). Cover them with 1/3 cup Coarse Sea Salt and 1/2 cup juice of a regular lemon. Stir well. Covered them up nice and air tight and let them sit out on the counter for a week. Stir them and re-cover every night for one week. On the 8th day add 1/2 cup of olive oil, stif and recover. Store in refrigerator for up to six months.

But after the first week I was ready to try this recipe. The rinds were soft so I figured they were ready. I was unsure about the lemons because they tasted so salty, but after a bit of research, I decided to give them a rinse and then trim that so that I was only using the peel. I used almost all of the lemons in this recipe, but the few that were left sat it the fridge for a few more weeks and I can confirm they get better with age. In fact, I'm getting ready to make another batch.

Pan Roasted Line Caught Halibut with Soy-Lemon Sauce
Serves 4

4 6-ounce center-cut halibut fillets, skin off
2 large minced shallots
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
2 Tablespoons white wine
2 Tablespoons low sodium organic soy sauce
1/3 cup chopped preserved lemons
1/4 cup chopped chives
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Extra virgin olive oil

Pre-heat over to 400 degrees. In an large saute pan or cast iron skillet, coated lightly with olive oil, season the halibut with salt and pepper and sear until brown on top side, about 2 minutes. Flip halibut and add shallots and tomatoes in between the pieces of fish, drizzle some extra virgin olive oil on top and place in oven. Roast for about 12-14 minutes until cooked through. Transfer fish to a plate and place pan on high heat. De glaze pan with win and add preserved lemons. Reduce by half and add soy sauce. Check for seasoning. Plate fish and encircle with sauce. Garnish with chives.

Panko and Dijon-Crusted Trout on Cucumber-Quinoa Salad

I saw Ming Tsai making this recently on an episode of Simply Ming. I love how he instructs to pre-heat the cookie sheet in the oven before placing the fish on it. The fish cooks nice and evenly with this technique. I am a big fan of fish but don't always have success in cooking it. This was easy and very impressive. The crust on top made it turn out like a restaurant quality dish.

Also fun is that he serves it over a quinoa salad. This is becoming a popular grain and this salad is the first time I have prepared it. It is light and a great compliment to the fish.

The recipe on his site doesn't instruct you how to actually cook the fish so I have added that inline below.

Panko and Dijon-Crusted Trout on Cucumber-Quinoa Salad
Serves 4

¼ cup Dijon mustard plus 1 tablespoon for vinaigrette

1 cup panko on a plate

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 scallions, sliced thinly, white and green separated

4 skinless rainbow trout fillets

juice and zest of 1 lemon

3 tablespoons Wanjashan ponzu

¼ cup grapeseed oil

1 English cucumber, washed, mostly diced, a portion thinly sliced into coins for plating

1½ cup blanched quinoa

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Pre-heat oven to high broil and place oven-proof plate or cookie sheet in middle of oven.

In a bowl, combine 1/4 cup Dijon mustard with panko, olive oil and scallion whites. Season trout and spread seasoned panko mixture on top of trout. Place trout on heated cooking dish skin side down (it should be hot enough that the fish sears when placed). Broil about 8 minutes, or until topping is golden brown.

Meanwhile, make vinaigrette by mixing lemon juice with ponzu and 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard. Whisk in the grapeseed oil. Season and check for flavor. Add diced cucumbers and quinoa. Check for flavor and season.

To plate, arrange overlapping circle of cucumber coins, then spoon quinoa salad in center. Top with trout, drizzle extra vinaigrette around plate and garnish with reserved scallion greens.

Dinner for a Chinese New Year

I made a small feast for dinner tonight. My CSA box contained bok choy and snow peas so I found two recipes to use these fresh vegetables. Since it is Chinese New Year's I turned to My China and Simple Chinese Cooking by Kylie Kwong. She is one of my favorite Asian cookbook authors.

The shrimp in the picture is with a packaged sauce that I got at the Asian market. Basically just stir fry the shrimp with the sauce. But with the veggies I got to make my own sauces. I love playing with Asian ingredients and I think they both turned out well.

Stir-Fried Snow Peas with Garlic 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil 1/2 tsp. sea salt 8 oz. snow peas, trimmed 4 garlic cloves, roughly crushed 1/2 tsp. brown sugar 1/2 cup chicken stock or water 1/4 tsp. sesame oil Heat vegetable oil in a hot wok until surface seems to shimmer slightly. Add salt and snow peas and stir-fry for 2 minutes. Add garlic and stir-fry for 1 minute, stirring constantly to ensure garlic does not burn. Add sugar and stir-fry for 10 seconds. Pour in stock or water and simmer for 2 minutes or until snow peas are tender. Lastly, stir through sesame oil and serve immediately.

Bok Choy with Oyster Sauce 1 bunch bok choy, cores removed 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil 2 Tbsp. oyster sauce dash of sesame oil 1 Tbsp. peanut oil Separate bok choy leaves and wash thoroughly. Fill a large saucepan with water and bring to the boil. Stir vegetable oil, add bok choy and simmer until bok choy i sbright green and tender - this should take about 1 minute. Using tongs, immediately remove bok choy from water and place on a platter. Drizzle with oyster sauce and sesame oil. Heat peanut oil in a small frying pan until moderately hot and carefully pour over bok choy. Serve immediately.

Ming's Mom's 3-2-1 Shrimp

I've been really into Simply Ming lately. I started recording it everyday and then having a Simply Ming marathon on weekends. I love the format of the show. He prepares on "master recipe", which is usually some type of sauce, and then he prepares three recipes using that sauce. In addition, he asks one guest chef to prepare one of their own meals using that sauce. Everyone from Rick Bayless to Sara Moulton to the Two Hot Tamales have appeared on his show.

I decided to make Ming's 3-2-1 Saute Sauce and his Mom's 3-2-1 Shrimp. On the same episode he also used the sauce to make Seared Monkfish with Sweet Onions and Peppers and Crispy Chicken Livers and Scallions. Emeril Lagasse was the guest chef and he made Sauteed Shrimp and Udon Noodles.

The sauce is so yummy! It took a while to prepare because you have to reduce it. But it is super easy to prepare and would be good with any stir-fry. I hope I have to time to try out one of the other recipes or do something else with the leftover sauce.