Vietnamese Dipping Fish Sauce (Nuoc Cham)

What is Nuoc Cham? (pronounced - nook chum)

Nuoc Cham is a simple mixture of water, sugar, lime juice, fish sauce, garlic and chilies. It’s an addictive flavor blast in your mouth of sweet, sour, salty, savory and sometimes spicy. This dipping sauce is commonly served alongside spring rolls, but will quickly become your go to everything sauce/dip when you're craving that Vietnamese flavor.

Taegu - Spicy Korean Seasoned Cuttlefish

Taegu is Hawaii’s version of Spicy Korean Seasoned Cuttlefish.

This recipe is a mild version of Taegu that is perfect for my husband. If you prefer it spicier add more Korean pepper paste (gochujang) and/or Korean pepper powder (gochugaru). Taste the sauce as you are making it and adjust according to your taste.

Lomi Lomi Salmon

Lucky me!  Visitors from Hawaii means lau lau’s for me from Young’s Fish Market (my absolute, hands down favorite!) and if I’m really lucky I get a bag of poi too!  So the only thing that’s missing is the Lomi Lomi Salmon and maybe… some Chicken Long Rice.

Fresh Wild Ahi Tuna

Sashimi grade Ahi tuna at the Eugene Costco?  Yup, someone on the "inside" must have had a plan for this chunk of gold, but I got hold of it first and I wasn't going to leave without it.  The minute I spotted it I knew that there was going to be some deliciousness in my kitchen tonight.

Baked Salmon with Creamy Dill Sauce

Salmon is always a good choice in my house.  We eat it fried, grilled, steamed, poached, smoked, sashimi-ed, lomi-lomi and baked.  The choices are endless. Salmon is an extremely versatile fish that always cooks up moist and has a mild flavor that blends well with all types of recipes.

Sea Bass with Tartar Sauce

Sea bass is my favorite white fish.  It may sound a little kooky but sea bass reminds me of a cross between eating lobster and crab in the form of a fish fillet.  It has a mild flavor with a firm texture which makes me think of lobster and a pull apart feel in your mouth that makes me think of crab.

Baked Fish with Fresh Herbs

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I don't know what got into me today but I was feeling very indecisive.  For example;

When I was at the fish market I couldn’t decide on the salmon, black cod or red snapper so I bought all three.  I had different cooking methods and recipes in mind for each.  That quickly changed when I got to the grocery store and discovered a pack of fresh herbs that were labeled “seafood blend” a combination of thyme, lemon thyme, basil and tarragon.

I contemplated this blend for a moment imagining béarnaise sauce over a steak and not of fish. I began to visualize the flavors of each herb in my head and immediately felt that the tarragon would be too strong for the fish.  But because I was in such an indecisive mood I caved in and tossed it in my basket thinking, “Why would they package this blend if it wasn’t going to be delicious on seafood?”

I should have gone with my first instinct and passed on the tarragon.  It just goes to show that you should never shop when you’re hungry or indecisive. 

The tarragon overpowered the fish and by blending it together with the other herbs, it not only overwhelmed the fish, it also disguised the other herbs as if they were not there.  So don’t get fooled like me.  The next time I make herbed fish, the tarragon will definitely get the axe.

There are so many fresh herbs that work wonderfully with fish.  So keep this list in mind when you are making fish and stay away from tarragon.  Thyme, basil, dill, parsley, chives or oregano but definitely not tarragon.  Mix and match and remember a little goes a long way.

BAKED FISH WITH FRESH HERBS

2 – 3    fillets              salmon, mild firm white fish like halibut, mahi mahi or red snapper

1          Tbsp.               olive oil or butter

1          cloves             garlic, minced

¼         tsp.                  kosher salt

pinch                           black pepper

pinch                           red pepper flakes

                                     fresh herbs, thyme, basil, dill, parsley and chives.

                                     fresh lemon juice

Chop the fresh herbs.

Brush your fish with the olive oil or butter and sprinkle with salt, peppers, garlic and fresh herbs.

Bake in a 400 degree oven for 15 minutes or until it is cooked through.

Place fish on a serving dish and squeeze with lemon juice.

Red Snapper Dore

This was the first way that I learned how to cook fish.  I always referred to it as fillet of fish dipped in egg.  Until my husband (boyfriend at the time) said to me as I was making it for him one night, “Oh you mean dore”?  Definitely less wordy so I have use it ever since.

Kono's Salmon Picatta

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Kono makes a wonderfully easy picatta sauce that he uses to cook with chicken or fish.  I have never bothered to make it myself because it is one of Kono’s specialties and he does it perfectly. 

Poached Salmon Chinese Style

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Living in the North West has taught me to cook and eat a lot of fresh salmon. The best part about salmon is that it is such a versatile fish that can be dressed up in more ways than you can count. Salmon is a light and flaky fish with a high fat content that helps to retain its moistness and is incredibly forgiving to the cook.

Misoyaki Butterfish (black cod)

The magic is in the Misoyaki sauce. Once you know how to make it you will be marinating everything in it.

One of the things that I miss about living in Hawaii is the ease of going to almost any grocery store and picking up a piece of marinated miso butterfish. In Oregon I either make it myself (when I can find the fish) or not have it at all. And if you know me, not having it at all is never a good option.

 

The first thing that I needed to do was find a source for the fish, because no one seemed to know what butterfish was. With a little research and the help of my local fishmonger I found the fish. The actual name is black cod or sablefish and the confusion came because in Hawaii we call this fish butterfish due to its buttery flavor and texture. It was funny that I was looking for a fish by its description rather than its name.

If you live in a place where you can get a pre-marinated piece of butterfish this is almost an instant meal. However, if you can't like me. It will take a little planning and patience, 2-3 days in the fridge before you can enjoy your butterfish.

Black cod is my first choice for steaming, but salmon can be a good substitute.

Sesame Crusted Ahi Steaks with Wasabi Ginger Mayo

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I love simple food and this dish is as simple as it gets.  Clean fresh flavors of ahi steak quickly pan fried with a sesame seed crust - makes for a quick and healthy dinner.

Shoyu Poke

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I love poke!!!

Fresh tuna (ahi) cut into bite sized pieces and seasoned with a soy flavored sauce and sweet Maui onions.

When I go back to Hawaii, this is the first thing that I track down and eat. You can find poki everywhere including Safeway and Costco. But it’s not about the quantity, it’s all about the quality, especially when you are eating raw fish.

Oven Broiled Salmon

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I hadn’t planned it this way, but it has been all about fish this week. I stopped at Costco and found a small (2 lb.) side of salmon that looked great. This was a true find, because most of the time they are 3 - 4 pounds each, which is way too much for my family. So, I had to get it, even though we just had fish a couple of nights ago.

Baked Fish w/mock Ratatouille

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Tonight I decided to turn my oven roasted veggies into a mock ratatouille to top some baked fish. So I chopped the 2-3 cups of leftovers I had into a small dice along with any olive oil that settled and placed them in a mixing bowl. I then diced up a roma tomato to add a layer of freshness, 1 clove of minced garlic to wake it up and about 1 Tblsp. of capers to add a simple layer of briny salty-ness. Yummy.