Salmon Kho Tieu

One of the dishes that I love at our favorite Vietnamese restaurant is their Salmon Casserole.

I've tried preparing this at home before and made use of a clay pot and a ready-to-use Kho Tieu seasoning that I got from a Vietnamese grocery. I remember that it tasted too pepper-y back then so we filed a mental note to use less of the seasoning.

We never did get to try this out again because our clay pot broke.

Several years later, I find myself in a bind - my cholesterol levels are up from last year and I really have to watch what I'm eating. I'm sure hubby isn't far behind (his levels were even higher than mine last year) so what's a gal to do but learn to cook healthier dishes ?

This recipe was adapted from The Ravenous Couple's site, my changes are in italics:

1 lb catfish steaks (I used Salmon fillet)
4 tbs fish sauce
3 tbs brown sugar
2 tbs minced shallots (I didn't have shallots)
2 tbs minced garlic
1 tbs black pepper
3 green onions, sliced 1 inches long (didn't have green onions either, so I just put onions)
3 tbs caramel sauce
1 can of young coconut juice
1 thai chili (thinly sliced, optional)
cooking oil

1. Clean the fish steaks, rinse well and pat dry. Marinade with fish sauce, sugar, pepper, garlic, and shallots for about 1/2-1 hr.
2. In pot, heat about 1 tbs of cooking oil on medium high and add the marinaded fish. Allow to sear and brown for about 2-3 before searing opposite side for another few minutes.
3. Add the caramel sauce and just enough coconut juice to the level of the fish steaks. Cover and turn to med low heat and allow to simmer for about 25 min (longer if you want it really soft), checking a few times to make sure that it's not reduced too much. Add more coconut juice or caramel sauce if needed. The fish will eventually caramelize and brown, as will the sauce which will be a thick gooey consistency.
4. Taste sauce and make final adjustments with fish sauce or sugar. (I adjusted the taste with salt as hubby doesn't like the smell of fish sauce)
5. Turn off heat and add additional fresh cracked pepper, green onions, and optional chili pepper.

This dish turned out really nice. The first bite tasted a bit off as it wasn't the same as what we usually get at the restaurant but after I got to terms with that, I realized that this was really really good. In fact, we didn't have any left for hubby's baon tomorrow because we ate it all.

Stir Fry Beef

I haven't been cooking much lately, as you surely have noticed, my previous post was more than a year ago.

Since I started working again last year, we've been sustained by takeout and instant food and this is something I want to change now because (a) it is unhealthy; and, (b) it's expensive.

This super easy and good beef stir fry recipe from food.com made my night. Hubby agrees that it is so good so this is really a great recipe for my comeback :)

For seasoning the beef:
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons water
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1 lb boneless round steak or 1 lb charcoal chuck steak, cut into thin 3-inch strips
vegetable oil
4 cups broccoli florets
1 small onion, cut into wedges (omitted because we didn't have any)

I added:
Straw Mushrooms (canned)
Quail Eggs (canned)
Baby Corn (canned)

Sauce:
1/3 cup reduced sodium soy sauce
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground ginger

Directions:

1. In a bowl, combine 2 tablespoons cornstarch, 2 tablespoons water and garlic powder until smooth.
2. Add beef and toss.
3. In a large skillet or wok over medium high heat, stir-fry beef in 1 tablespoon oil until beef reaches desired doneness; remove and keep warm.
4. Stir-fry broccoli and onion in remaining oil for 4-5 minutes.
5. Return beef to pan.
6. Combine soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger and remaining cornstarch and water until smooth; add to the pan.
7. Cook and stir for 2 minutes.

Super easy and good :)