Poke

We are super lucky here in San Diego to be able to get fresh fish direct from the fishing boats here in San Diego.  Our go-to source has been Haworth Fish, we get their email (or see on Instagram or Facebook) when they have a boat in and pick the fish up at the dock (they are also at some the farmer's markets and they deliver). The other great source is the Tuna Harbor Dockside Market on Saturday mornings. 

The fish available include opah (large sunfish), yellowtail, ahi (yellowfin tuna), and last week we got bluefin tuna (maguro).  They sometimes have black cod.  To cook opah or yellowtail we normally do the super easy "fish on foil" technique on the grill (and make sure to not overcook it.. it gets pulled with the internal temp is about 125F).   The cod gets a flour and cornmeal dusting and then pan fried, it's a nice delicate fish. 

But one of my new favorites is to make Poke.  Poke is a traditional Hawaiian food, but is now heavily influenced by Japanese flavors and served in many customized ways.  This recipe is fairly heavy on the marinade, and is in the "bowl" form ... rice (although you can use noodles) topped with the fish then garnished to your hearts content.  

Poke goes together quickly ... I usually do all the vegetable cutting for the garnish (arrange on a platter if you are setting out for people to make their own bowls), then the onions, then the fish.  So one knife, one cutting board.  Put the seasonings on the fish, mix, and it's ready.  But it can wait for a while in the fridge if you want to do ahead. 

I get all the vegetable chopping done before getting the tuna out..

Then chop the tuna..

Add the seasonings then make the bowls. 

Poke

 

This is best the same day, but leftovers are still ok the next day… 

 

Serves 2-4 as a main  

 

Garnish (pick 2 or more): 

Thinly sliced cucumbers, radishes

Shaved or shredded carrots, cabbage 

Sliced bell pepper, hot peppers

Avocado Slices

Sprouts, cilantro or microgreens

 

 

¼ cup thinly sliced sweet onion

½ cup chopped green onions, green part only

1 pound sashimi-grade ahi tuna (can use either yellowfin or blue fin tuna), cut into ¾” cubes

¼ teaspoon gochutgaru (Korean red chili flakes) or other chili powder to taste

1 tablespoon finely chopped toasted macadamia nuts (optional)

1 teaspoon sesame seeds (or a bit more if not using macadamia nuts)

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

1 teaspoon sesame oil

Salt to taste

 

Steamed rice for serving

 

Prepare ingredients for garnish and set aside. 

 

Slice onions and place into a medium-large bowl.  Get the ahi out of the fridge, cube and add to onions.  Add remaining ingredients, and gently stir together.  Taste and add salt if needed.  Can be served immediately, but best to refrigerate for 10 minutes or more. 

 

Make a poke bowl with some rice, top with poke, add garnishes. 

 

Cooking for One: Fried Rice

December is finally here, and I'm telling myself that I can stop being Grinch-y about Christmas decorations and the like.  I love the awe and wonder of Christmas ... for about 2 weeks.  Yes, do a little shopping and planning, but my tree is not going up for another week!

Until then, life as normal.  Which often means dinner for one. I like to have proper meals, even when I'm alone. I don't really mind cooking for myself, I think it has helped me develop as a cook, to learn more about tasting and adjusting flavors. But there are limits on just how much time I'm willing to spend cooking for just me, especially the cleaning up part.  There are a disconcerting number of these meals that I cook in a 10" or 11" non-stick skillet:

• Scramble (leftover potatoes, onions, something green, meat or bacon and/or an egg on top)
• Spiced Chickpea and vegetables (I'll post this one soon)
• Fried Rice
• Scrambled eggs with veggies
• Mini-frittata (well, this uses a 6" non-stick skillet.  Just like this, but just 2-3 eggs)

To make this happen, its very helpful to have leftovers.  Things like boiled potatoes, leftover chicken (or turkey) or sausage, plain rice, or pasta whatever.  The leftovers, combined with some fresh vegetables, allow me to make something completely different from night to night that's healthy and filling and tasty. When I don't have leftovers, beans or eggs or a sausage from the freezer often find their way into dinner for one.

I can tell you that I don't really have recipes for these skillet dinners  I'm going to show you what I do, and write something that looks like a recipe, but don't worry about following too closely. And I'm not worried that my tree is not up yet.

Fried Rice

Get everything out:  leftover rice (enough for one person), leftover meat (optional.. sometimes I'll use cashews or almonds if I don't have meat), aromatics like garlic, ginger, hot peppers (or can use red pepper flakes.. or not if you don't want spicy), onions, and an assortment of veggies so that you have a couple of cups or so when they are chopped.  I have zucchini, carrot, red pepper, and some leftover green beans for this batch.  Other things I like include mushrooms, broccoli, cabbage, kale, asparagus... pretty much what ever needs to be used up.  Plus an egg, some oil, and some soy sauce.

Start chopping.  Finely mince the aromatics, chop everything else. 

Get out a 10 or 11 inch non-stick pan, and heat some oil (a tablespoon or so, enough to coat the bottom) over medium high heat.  Add the aromatics, veggies, and rice.  Also throw in nuts if you are using. Let cook.  Stir occasionally.  You want things to brown a little. 

When the veggies are almost done, stir in the meat.  Then push everything to the side, and put a little more oil in the middle (by the way, I think I actually used chicken fat (schmaltz) here because I happened to have some left from roasting a chicken, but anything works).  

Drop the egg on the oil. 

Then quickly stir to scramble and cook.

When the egg is mostly cooked, mix everything together, and drizzle with soy sauce (I'm guessing a teaspoon or two).  Taste, you can always add more soy sauce if needed.

If you want to make this for 2, use a 12" skillet.  Although I'm guessing that this might make 2 servings for some people (those who don't swim for example).  

Fried Rice

Makes one big serving.

Oil or fat of choice (vegetable, olive, chicken fat, etc.)

1 clove garlic, minced

½ teaspoon ginger, minced

1 hot pepper, minced or ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes (to taste)

½ small onion, chopped

2 cups (or so) of assorted chopped vegetables, such as green beans, broccoli, asparagus, carrots, celery, mushrooms, bell peppers, summer squash, etc.

1 cup (or so) of cooked rice (brown or white)

1 egg

1-2 teaspoons soy sauce (to taste)

Heat oil in 10 or 11 inch non-stick skillet over medium high heat. Add the aromatics, veggies, and rice.  Also throw in nuts if you are using. Let cook.  Stir occasionally -- things should brown a little.  If things are sticking, turn down the heat and add a little water. When the veggies are almost done, stir in the meat.  Then push everything to the side making a well in the middle. Put a little more oil in the middle then put the egg on the oil. Then quickly stir the egg to scramble and cook. When the egg is mostly cooked, mix everything together, and drizzle with a teaspoon of soy sauce. Taste, add more soy sauce if needed.

Grilling: Chicken

One of the things I am doing while I have some time off is teaching my father-in-law how to grill.  They have recently purchased a home in the Phoenix area, and put in an awesome grill in the backyard. I got to start breaking it in!    We started with grilling some shrimp on rosemary skewers ( just a coating of olive oil and chopped rosemary) to honor the grill, and give us substance to move on to grilling chicken.  We made up a marinade I have done for many years, a spiced onion paste, which was combined with chunks of chicken for  kabobs.  Salads are handy to do with a grilled meat, since they can be done ahead.  I would usually do a pasta salad (who me, more pasta?) but for a nice change did a rice salad with farmer’s market vegetables and lemon juice / olive oil dressing.   My other grilling tricks: Use a zip-loc baggie for marinating (in addition to reducing dirty dishes, by pressing out the air, you get better contact between meat and marinade),  spray the hot grill with Pam, and let the meat cook about 4-5 minutes before turning.  The hard part is learning when its done, that’s just takes some practice!

Here are the recipes:

Cajun Chicken Brochettes

This marinade (done in a food processor) is a nice thick consistency.  It’s always better to marinate longer, but even a couple of hours is OK.

6 SERVINGS

½  small onion
1 medium garlic clove
¼  cup olive oil
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon ground oregano
1 teaspoon dried thyme, crumbled
¼  teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
½ teaspoon salt
Several grinds of pepper

4 boned chicken breast halves, skinned, cut into 1 ½ inch squares

1 large onion, cut into 1 ½ inch squares
12 medium mushrooms (about 6 ounces), trimmed
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1 ½ inch squares
Lime Quarters (optional)

In food processor fitted with steel knife, and machine running, drop 1/2 small onion and garlic through feed tube and mince, stopping to scrape down sides of work bowl if necessary.  Add oil, lime juice, spices, and mix.  Transfer marinade to ziplock bag, add chicken pieces; seal bag and turn several times to coat with marinade.  Refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight, turning bag occasionally.

Thread chicken and vegetables on ~6 skewers in following order. (Can be prepared 3 hours ahead, covered and refrigerated.)

Grill over medium heat until chicken is just opaque, ~ 10 minutes, turning once.  Serve hot or at room temperature.

Homework recipe:

Grilled Savory Chicken

This chicken always comes out nice and moist -- a good one to fix for company (especially since you have to think ahead a little bit to marinate the chicken).  Of course, you don't have to marinate overnight, 20 minutes works.  It comes out best if you use at least half fresh herbs.

Serves 4

4 half chicken breasts
1 tablespoon fresh minced thyme (or 1 teaspoon dry)
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh minced sage (or 1/2 teaspoon dry)
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh minced rosemary (or 1/2 teaspoon dry)
3/4 teaspoon fresh minced marjoram (or 1/4 teaspoon dry)
3 tablespoons fresh minced parsley
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/3 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1 lemon, cut into wedges (garnish)

Skin, bone and flatten chicken breasts to 1/4-inch thickness.  Combine all herbs, spices, lemon rind, and oil.  Rub cutlets with mixture.  Place in Zip-lock baggie.  Cover and chill overnight.  Sprinkle cutlets with salt and pepper to taste.  Grill 3-5 minutes on each side.  Optional:  Serve with lemon wedges.

Vegetable Rice Salad

This salad goes great with chicken or grilled fish.  Fine to use leftover rice. 

1 cup of rice (raw), cooked per package directions

Dressing:
1/2 cup olive oil
6 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
½ teaspoon salt, more to taste
Freshly ground pepper

Vegetables:  Need about 2 cups of vegetables, finely diced (4-6 kinds). 
Possible options:  Bell Pepper, cucumber, carrots, celery, green onions, sweet onions, sugar or snap peas, or thawed frozen peas, broccoli, zucchini, tomatoes

Herbs:
1/4 cup minced parsley or other mild herb

Cook rice and cool to room temperature in a large bowl.   Mix dressing ingredients in a small bowl.  Mix vegetables together the rice, then add enough dressing to moisten.  Taste and add more salt or lemon juice if needed.

Serve room temperature or chilled.

Risotto

We are back from Italy, we really had a wonderful trip.  Will have some pictures, along with a short synopsis of the trip posted soon.  But I thought I would start with this recipe, since our trip was book-ended with Risotto, first at an outside café in Venice (where it was simply done with shrimp and zucchini), and last as one course of the final dinner for our cooking school (where it was elegantly done with squash blossoms and pecorino cheese).  I’m now pretty confident my risotto is authentic, and adjustable as desired for what is fresh and in season.. and great as we start to get a little cooler weather for fall.

Risotto

This does call for very good chicken broth, I usually use homemade.  If not, make sure to use a high quality, low salt broth, such as Pacific Organic (use 1 quart, and dilute with a bit of water to get the extra ½ cup).

In Italy, we had once with Shrimp (small pieces) and zucchini (which was cut very small), the other had zucchini squash blossoms with pecorino cheese (sheep’s milk) instead of parmesan. 

Serves 4

4 ½ cups chicken broth
1 cup minced onion
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 ½ cups Arborio rice
½ cup white wine
2 cups vegetable  (asparagus, winter squash, mushrooms, etc)
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
¼ cup parmesan cheese
Fresh herbs

In small saucepan, heat broth to just below a simmer.  In medium heavy saucepan, sauté the onions in the oil for about 5 minutes, until softened but not browned. 

Using a wooden spoon to avoid breaking the grains, add the rice and stir until it is well coated with oil.  Add the wine. When it is absorbed (it won’t take long) ladle in the ½ cup of the hot stock stirring frequently until the rice has absorbed the liquid. The heat should be at a low boil.  Continue to add ½ cup at a time, for 2 –3 minutes between each addition, until a about half the broth has been used.

Add the vegetables. Continue adding ½ cup of broth every few minutes for about 10 minutes, stirring often, until the rice is tender but firm (most all of the stock will be used). The consistency should be creamy, not dry or soupy.   Remove from heat, stir in the nutmeg and cheese.  Add salt and pepper to taste (it might not need any salt, depends on the broth, also the cheese is salty) and serve.  If desired, finish with some finely chopped fresh herbs, such as thyme, parsley, and / or chives.