WEEKEND SALMON MEAL

 

Hello 2018 !!! Late as usual but this year I plan to be a regular unlike last year. The hostess promises to be at her party (welcome to my jokes …LOL)

Anyways first things first…I must get this off my chest or I’ll choke on it. You see I have not been feeling true to my name “Sweetartisan”. Don’t get me wrong, I love to bake and whip up scrumptious sweets, but gosh its just not practical to do so on a regular basis. Its the day to day mundane cooking which takes centre stage in my home. The Boy-man is suddenly physic conscious and Mr. Senior is watching the weighing scale, so they both seem to be turning away from the sugary stuff. That leaves me with the exciting task of whipping up interesting meals. We have resolved in the interest of our waist line to cut down on restaurant/ food court visits over the weekend too and further torture my poor soul. So a little birdie in my head tells me to (Re) create restaurant quality meals at home.

 

 

 

The first challenge is always variety in a meal. Anything that’s a repeat is considered “same old crap” or categorised as uninventive or not good enough for a Sunday. Thank God I have the patience of a saint and a whole of 5 week days to recover from weekend food trauma. So friends let the weekend in-dining begin with a food court classic “Salmon Meal”. Singapore’s famous food courts are reasonably priced, so mind you cooking a salmon at home saves you no money, but the portion is generous, nationality of the salmon is guaranteed (Norwegian) and you are putting a lot more veges on the plate as against rice.

 

My salmon meal is accompanied by a 4 bean salad, stir fried veges and a small helping of rice. The salmon is marinated in  garlic and whatever sauces I have in my pantry. The flavours are a mish mash… a bit Asian with a little of a continental twist on the salad. The sweet and tangy-ness of the salad blends seamlessly with the fresh, rich and almost burnt sauciness of the salmon. You have a crunch from the greens and water chestnuts, smoothness from the beans, bite of stir fried veges and the rich taste of salmon…what you want more ????

The verdict-

Food ***** (5 stars)    Presentation 4.5 stars (plate looked messy)  Ambience 3.5 stars (cook cum waitress wearing tattered shorts with messy hair. Smelt fishy. She was bossy and snappy too)   Photography 1 Star ( SHE NEEDS TRAINING)

RECIPE

WEEKEND SALMON MEAL

serves 2

SALMON

2 fillets of salmon (deboned)

4-5 pods garlic cut fine

4 tablespoons Korean BBQ sauce/ any other BBQ sauce (smokey Flavoured)

2 tablespoons sweet soya sauce

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 fresh or dried red chilly chopped fine

juice of half lemon

salt to taste

Mix all the sauces and aromatics in a shallow dish. Taste  and balance off as needed. Marinade the salmon fillets in the above. place the fillets flesh side down, making sure to coat the skin and sides with the sauce. Refrigerate for an hour atleast or until ready to use.

Prepare the salmon just before serving. Heat a heavy based frying pan. Add 2 tblspoons of vegetable oil. Swirl to coat well. Lift out the salmon from the sauce and shake out the liquid. Place the salmon skin side down in the sauce pan. Flip after cooking for 2 minutes. My salmon is always cooked through so I cook it longer than 3-4 minutes on each side. Once the salmon is done remove onto a plate. Pour remainder of the marinade into the hot pan. Add a little water if it thickens and starts to burn. Boil for a minute. Add salmon and coat well with sauce. Serve with rice and salad.

SALAD

1 head Lettuce/ 2 handfuls of mixed salad leaves

8 cherry tomatoes cut into halves

6 water chestnuts

8 Black olives chopped

200 grams Beans tinned (or beans of your choice soaked and cooked)

Basil leaves 4-5 shredded

2 spring onions cut on a slant

2 hard boiled eggs cut into 1/4

Dressing: lemon juice  (1/2 lemon), 1 teaspoon sesame oil, 1 tablespoon honey, pepper, few drops Tabassco sauce, 2 tablespoons Japanese Kewpie Mayo ( any other mayo is good). mix the above and keep aside

Mix the salad. add salt to taste. Add the dressing and mix. Place the eggs on top

Sir fried veges- 6 florets broccoli, 1 medium carrot cut at a slant, 2 handful sprouts, 2 pods garlic chopped

fry the garlic in 1 tblspn hot oil. Add th broccoli and carrots , stir fry on very high heat. I like a few burnt marks on the veges. Add thesprouts and continue stir frying for another minute. Plate up.