Teach a person to fish, he will hand it to you to cook it while he goes and takes a nap, teach him how to cook and he will make you fish curry. Does that even make sense?, who knows. Subject of the day after returning back from a very busy 2 weeks. Fish. Everyone should eat fish at least twice a week. We meat eaters including myself have to make an effort to love fish but made right we foodies will jump at it. Fish is so versatile you can practically do anything to it. Quick meals done right and downright healthy. You can bake it, Fry it Grill it and currify it J. The one great thing about fish is when you cook it in curry it still retains its nutrients which is awesome. The Awesomeness of all awesome foods. Check out the great benefits or just ignore it by scrolling down to the recipes.
Protein
- Fish is a very good source of protein. Our bodies are not equipped to store protein; therefore consuming fish daily helps you fulfill your daily requirement.
Omega-3 Fatty Acids
- Fish is a good source of omega-3 fatty acids. Our bodies don't manufacture this nutrient which helps protect against heart disease.
Low Fat
- Fish is a great staple of a low fat diet. The majority of fish contain low levels of saturated fats.
B Vitamins
- Fish contains B vitamins, which help to reduce stress, anxiety and depression. The B vitamins help your memory and reduce the risk of heart disease.
Vitamin A
- Vitamin A, which is found in fish, helps the body tissue mend and provides the mechanics for cell growth. Some other common ailments Vitamin A helps ward off are arthritis, acne and bronchitis.
Calcium
- Fish also contains calcium, which helps to maintain strong bones and teeth.
What kind of fish do you like? It all depends on how you cook it and prepare. It also depends on the textures.
The texture can help you decide the proper techniques of cooking it. When you are grilling fish, it would not be a good idea to grill the fragile fish as they will fall apart. The more delicate fish you can grill but with the skin on or on a plank or a pan. Most people buy specialty cedar planks to grill them on. Turn them and they will fall apart. What fish would you choose for what type of cooking is purely up to you. Depending on the flavors the darker the color the more intense the flavor and the whiter flesh fish tend to be more delicate and light. As for marinating; the lighter the fish the less marination is needed. The more dense fish may dry out during the cooking process so a good oil marinate for 30 minutes or longer may result in a good buttery juicer cooked fish. Tuna (yes it’s an actual fish that doesn’t come in a can and don’t even get me started on why it’s called the chicken of the sea.) I have had it in a few restaurants but I just did not like it in any which way and form. I guess the good old school days of having it from a can with loads of mayo just sets in to your taste buds and rejects any other form or version of that particular fish. But Tuna is very healthy for you so make your self a good grilled tuna steak slice and and serve it on a nice arugula mango and candied pecan salad with good goat cheese. But you can do that salad with any dense grilled fish. I prefer the salmon.
Digressing:
Basic ingredients for a good baked fish
Salt, Pepper, olive oil, lemon juice and garlic
If you are using fish like salmon (pink fleshed fish) they are better off with butter as it compliments the fish much more than oil.
Butter is always better!
The alternative options for baked fish: coat with crushed or finely chopped parsley, dill .
Add a kick with some chilli powder coriander powder and cumin powder.
If you want a nice glaze on these while baking I would recommend concoctions of mustard olive oil and parsley.
You can try pesto mixed with mayonnaise tomatoes and garlic with olive oil
Buy a good teriyaki sauce always yummy. Make your own concoctions with peanut butter soy sauce some good ginger and olive oil salt and pepper to taste. Thai it (lol)
There are also great toppers or crust you can make for baked fish. All you need is bread crumbs(panko my favorite), you can make your own bread crumbs by getting two slices of bread and tossing it in a food processor until it crumbs up into well, bread crumbs. Coconut is always good, (served with good mango salsa: get some good almost ripe mangos cilantro, green chilis, and green onions and or yellow onions. Dress with olive oil and lemon juice some salt a pinch of sugar and pepper) The white fish go real well with the coconut and mango salsa. Ok digressing focus soooooo. Back to baking with crust…….
Basically you take the above ingredients in a bowl, add some olive oil or butter salt and garlic (opt) and mix it up and just sprinkle on time. You can add to it crushed chilies, parsley, cheese sundried tomatoes olives basil etc.
Bake at 400 for 8 minutes per inch of thickness, if you have a good amount of crust bake for an extra 10 to 15 minutes depending of the ingredients piled on.
Grilling is pretty basic. There is the typical American style with salt and pepper and garlic. You want to make it desi, well just add on some chili powder some coriander and cumin powder some ginger. When marinating the denser fish just add lots of Olive oil and soy sauce with ginger garlic and spices such coriander powder, chili powder and cumin powder. Sometime you can marinate the more dense fish like mahi mahi in Oil and soy sauce and garlic and salt than before grilling. Throw it in some crushed black pepper. Make a good pepper crusted mahi mahi
Curry Fish:
Basic curry recipe
I make a few curry fish recipes depending on the time I have. The quick one I make is a basic onions, spices and tomatoes.
Quick fish:
1 lb of fish
1 onion
2 tomatoes
1 tsp salt
½ tsp chili
1 tsp garlic
1 tsp fish sauce
1 tsp cumin
½ tsp coriander powder (optional)
Optional variation: add in 3 tbslp of coconut milk to make it creamier and richer.
Sauté onion until slightly brown, add in tomatoes and rest ingredients cook for at least 15 minutes stirring occasionally. Add in fish and cook until done. Do not violently stir the pot while the fish is in there (not a good idea). Resist your inner desiness to Bhoon the fish. Nothing tstes nastier than overcooked fish.
A more fancier fish recipe with a lot more ingredients and would be better with the more firmer fishes such as mahi mahi, tuna, salmon, trout etc and cod(I don’t like cod only because it is completely bland, no smell and no flavor…its better off fried like in fish and chips).
Anyways
2 lbs good flavorful fish like trout, salmon, mahi mahi and maybe tuna
2 medium onions chopped
2 tsp salt
1 tsp chili powder
½ tsp turmeric
2 tsp ginger garlic paste
6 tablespoon cumin powder roasted and ground
4 tablespoon coconut powder roasted and ground
A few kalonji seeds a pinch 7 or 8 seeds
A pinch of methi (fenugreek) seeds
Tamarind pulp (don’t buy the concentrated version its gross)
Curry leaves
3 whole green chilis
cilantro
In a good size wide pot pour in 3 tbsp oil toss in the kalonji seeds and methi seeds. Toss in onions and cook until brown. In a grinder ground the coconut powder and cumin powder until it turns into a paste. In another blender add in the cooled sautéed onions the paste mixture the rest of the ingredients except the tamarind and blend until ummm blended. Pour it back into the pot with 2 tblsp oil. If the mixture is too thick add some water and blend again. Cook in pan until the curry is thick and when the spoons sweeps through the bottom of the pan it leaves a clear trail. Add the watery tamarind pulp into the mixture and cook until the consistency of the curry resembles a thick soup not dense. If it becomes too thick than add more water or tamarind pulp juice. Gently add in the fish and cook on low medium heat covered for a good 20 minutes. Add in some coriander leaves curry leaves and 3 whole green chilies and turn off stove. It would also be a good enhancement if you brown the more thicker denser fish in another pan like sort of sear it..than gently just place into the curry. Instead of stirring the pot after you add the fish just simply pick up the pot with the handle andd jsut gently swirl the pot around to move the curry around.
Always always taste for salt. Some fish are very sweet and you may want to add a little bit more salt to balance you can also add a little bit of fish sauce for the more lighter sweeter fish like cod and orange roughy.
Enjoy with good rice and dal
Or just naan
GUESS WHAT: you can use the same ingredients to make seafood curry, just add shrimps, crabs lobster or you can make them all individually as well. When you make it with all the seafood just add in a cup of coconut milk.
