Salmon Sashimi Salad

We were invited to join our friend R's family for Christmas lunch last year and I made a simple raw salmon salad with Japanese dressing as entree. It has been a staple at the Tummies' ever since and I am sure I will be making this more often now that the weather is getting warmer.

Free free to use a combination of sashimi grade fish such as king fish, snapper and tuna. Serve it as an entree or with some cooked Japanese rice.

If you are a fan of raw fish, you might want to check out my hwedupbap (Korean raw fish on rice) or maguro no tataki don (chopped tuna rice bowl).

serves 4 as an entree

you'll need;

2 pieces of sashimi grade salmon, thinly sliced (reserved skin)

2 Lebanese cucumber, peeled lengthwise with a vegetable peeler

2 spring onions, chopped

1 red chili, seeds removed and finely diced

2 shallots, finely sliced

1 tbs of toasted sesame seeds

for the dressing;

2 tbs of light soy

2 tbs of mirin

1 tbs of lime juice

1 tsp of sesame oil

Peel the cucumbers into thin ribbons using a vegetable peeler. Place ribbons  on a large platter.

Pin bone the salmon and slice into 2 mm slices, place salmon on top of the cucumber ribbons.

Prepare the spring onions, chili and shallots, scatter the topping over the salmon.

Pan fry reserved salmon skin with a little oil until golden and crispy, allow to cool before breaking or chopping into chunks.

Scatter chopped salmon skin, toaster sesame seeds over and drizzle with dressing, mix everything well and enjoy!

Polenta Crumbed Potato And Tuna Patties

Looking for something economical, tasty and nutritious for your midweek dinner? Well I think I might just have the answer for you!

Contrary to popular belief potato doesn't make us fat but the lack of exercise, potato chips and mash laden with fats are the main culprits. In fact the slow energy releasing starch in potato makes us full and satisfied without resorting to overeating, another reason for the thickening midsections. Together with everyone's pantry favourite - canned tuna and a few other easy to get ingredients, a wholesome meal can be prepared in less than an hour.

For those who are not big fans of deep fried food, you can easily bake these patties in the oven. To do that simply place the patties onto a non stick oven tray, lightly spray with canola oil and bake in a hot oven (200 C) until golden (~25 to 30 minutes)

For something a little more fancy please check out my salmon fish cakes with salsa or if you prefer something vegetarian how about my panko crumbed sweet potato and red lentil patties instead?

recipe from the tummies' kitchen
makes 12
you will need;
6 potatoes, boiled till tender, peeled and mashed
1 onion, chopped, sauteed with a little oil until soften
1 can of tuna in spring water, drained well
half a bunch of parsley, finely chopped (~1/2 cup)
1 tbs of capers, chopped
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup of breadcrumbs
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup of polenta
oil for frying
relish of your choice to serve

Cook the potatoes until tender, when they are cool enough to handle peel and set aside.

Mash potatoes in a large bowl then add in the rest of the ingredients except for the polenta and oil.

Mix everything well and check for seasonings.

Form little patties with wet hands then lightly press the patties down onto the bowl polenta. You may crumb them with normal or Japanese breadcrumbs instead but I really love that light crunchy crust from the polenta. Place the crumbed patties in the fridge for 30 minutes to firm up before frying.

Fry patties in batches until golden brown and drain well on kitchen towels.

Serve tuna patties with a simple salad and some relish on the side.

Salmon Parcel With Beetroot, Apple And Celery Slaw - Christmas Lunch 2011 Part 3

After a Thai classic (ma haw) and a contemporary Australian (tian of prawns with tomato, fennel and cucumber with shellfish sauce) I wanted to create a main using my very own ideas. Since we were not doing presents I decided a little salmon parcel with a festive looking slaw might be a good idea.

I am extremely happy with the result considering I wasn't able to get the right cut of salmon for the dish. The refreshing salad/slaw turned out to be the perfect partner for the rich salmon parcels, more importantly there were four empty plates and satisfying smiles on everyone's face in the end.

P.S you can do most of the preps beforehand leaving you plenty of time to socialize with your guests. 

recipe from the Tummies' kitchen
oven preheated at 220 C (conventional)
serves 4 as a one dish meal
you'll need;
4 pieces of salmon fillets, skinned
4 ready rolled puff pastry
1 egg, lightly beaten

for the herb sauce;
1/2 bunch of coriander, roughly chopped
1/2 bunch of parsley, roughly chopped
6 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 tbs of coriander powder
1 tbs of cumin powder
1 tbs of sweet paprika
1/2 cup of olive oil
1/3 cup of red wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

for the slaw;
1 medium size beetroot, peeled and cut into matchstick size pieces
2 granny smith apples, cored and cut into matchstick size pieces*
4 celery ribs, cut into matchstick size pieces
half a bunch of chives, cut into lengths to match the rest of the vegetables
a handful of walnuts
a simple red wine vinegar dressing
*soak apple in acidulated water to prevent discolouring

Place all the sauce ingredients in a blender and blend till you get a course paste.

Spread some of the herb sauce over the salmon fillet. 

Cut the thin tail end and place it on top, this will ensure even cooking. If you are using fillets from the middle section, ignore this step.

Wrap salmon in a piece of thawed puff pastry to form a parcel, cut off the excess pastry.

Brush parcels with egg wash and bake in the preheated oven until the parcel puffed up and golden (~25 minutes)

Place all slaw ingredients except for the walnuts in a large bowl and dress the salad just before assembling.

Serve salmon parcel with a small mount of slaw on the side, top with walnuts and drizzle some of the remaining herb sauce over.

Sambal Ikan Bilis 參巴江魚仔 Dried Anchovies In A Spicy Sauce - "Malaysian Monday 62"

What are the must have side dishes when serving nasi lemak? For me the most basic serving of nasi lemak should be served with all the following condiments or toppings; a good sambal, cucumber slices, egg (hard boiled or fried), fried peanuts and fried anchovies (crispy or in a sambal)

In our household, we are divided into 2 fractions when it comes to how the dried anchovies should be prepared. Some like the crispy anchovies serve alongside the sambal and the rest prefer the anchovies to be mixed into the spicy sambal. What is your preference?

I decided to make a small batch of this delicious side dish when my craving for nasi lemak was becoming too painful to bear. 

P.S a more detailed post on our recent nasi lemak meal will be posted in the coming days.

makes 2 cups
you'll need;
1 cup of dried anchovies, rinsed and drained very well
oil for frying
1 large onion, sliced
1 cup of sambal tumis
3 tbs of sugar
4 tbs of tamatind concentrate
1/4 cup of coconut milk

Rinse the dried anchovies to remove the excess salt, drain well and set aside. Slice onion into 3 mm thick slices.

Fill a frying pan with 1 cm of cooking oil and when the oil is hot enough, fry anchovies until golden and crispy, remove and drain well.

Saute onion with about 2 tbs of cooking oil until soften.

Add sambal tumis to the pan and continue to cook for 2 minutes on medium heat before adding sugar, tamarind concentrate and coconut milk. Mix well and cook for a further minute.

Turn off the heat and when the sauce has cooled down, return the fried anchovies to the pan and mix well.

Serve the spicy anchovies as part of a nasi lemak meal. 

My friend Sharon from Test With Skewer is hosting the November event. Please send all your entries to its.sharon@gmail.com. To find out more about the event and how to enter, please click HERE. 

Cold Soba Noodles Salad With Asparagus, Green Beans, Cucumber And Sesame Crusted Tuna

We were once huge fans of the Moonlight Cinema when it first started some 15 years ago. Tummy was living a stone throw away from the venue and many warm summer evenings were spent at the Royal Botanical Garden lawn together with hundreds of other moviegoers.

For us the entertainment started when the crowds (many of them in their pyjamas) arrived with their peculiar looking rugs, pillows, blankets and extra large soft toys... stylish cushions and rugs were quite a rare sight indeed. What followed was a mass picnic with all these strangers while waiting for the film to be screened at sundown.

A picnic of course can't be without good food (and wine) and I was more than happy to take charge of that. The weather here in Melbourne can be quite unforgiving during the height of summer and this is one of the many cold dishes I prepared for one of those enjoyable evening.

Please don't wait until you next picnic to try this out, it is the perfect meal on a warm afternoon or evening with a nicely chilled bottle of  riesling or rose'.

P.S smoked salmon is a wonderful substitute if sashimi fish is hard to come by in your area.

recipe from the tummies' kitchen

serves 3 to 4 as a one dish meal

you'll need;

3 x 200 g of sashimi grade tuna steaks

1 tsp of grated ginger

2 tbs of Japanese soy

wasabi for coating

1/2 cup of toasted sesame seeds

1/2 cup of black sesame seeds

oil for frying

for the salad;

500 g of soba noodles, cook till al dente, refreshed, drained and mixed in a little sesame oil

200 g of green beans, sliced thinly lengthwise, blanched, refreshed and drained well

2 bunches of asparagus, thinly sliced at an angle, blanched, refreshed and drained well

1 continental cucumber, peeled, cut lengthwise and thinly sliced

a small bunch of chives, cut into 3 cm lengths

toasted sesame seeds

for the dressing;

1 tsp of grated ginger

1/2 cup of mirin

1/3 cup of Japanese soy

1/2 cup of water with 2 tbs of instant dashi*

1 tsp of sesame oil

juice of half a lime

* instant dashi comes in granule or powder form, it can be found at all good Asian grocers.

For the dressing, place all ingredients in a bowl and mix well.

Prepare the vegetables. Blanch both the beans and asparagus briefly and refresh under and running tap, drain well and set aside.

Marinate tuna steak with grated ginger and soy for 10 minutes.

Drain the tuna steaks well and brush on a thin layer of wasabi paste.

Coat tuna with sesame seeds, pressing the seeds tightly as you work one each piece of steak. Pan fry with a little oil until golden on both sides, drain well and cool slightly before slicing.

Just before serving, mix all salad ingredients in a large bowl together with half of the sesame seeds and add in the dressing.

Divide salad onto individual plates and top with the sliced tuna and sprinkles of extra sesame seeds.

Aromatic Spicy Stir Fried Cockles 香辣炒鮮蚶

Friday is here again and where has the week gone to? If you are also playing hide and seek with time, this simple delicious stir fry might be what you are after.

I recently cooked for a dinner party hosted by my friend M and this is an extra dish I cooked using the hostess' recipe. A typical contemporary Malaysian dish that has ingredients sourced from different cultures and to me this is fusion food at its best.

P.S If you are unable to find cockles; pipis, clams or mussels will work equally well too.

serves 4 to 6 as part of a Malaysian or Chinese meal

you'll need;

1.5 kg of cockles, soaked in water for 30 minutes and cleaned well

4 shallots, sliced

6 cloves of garlic, sliced

3 large red chillies, sliced

2 lemon grass (white parts only), sliced finely

3 sprigs of curry leaves

5 tbs of oyster sauce

3 tbs of light soy

2 tbs of sugar

a dash of Chinese cooking wine

a dash of white pepper

Prepare the shallots, garlic, chillies and lemongrass.

Heat up a wok till smoking then saute shallots and garlic for 1 to 2 minutes with some cooking oil.

Add chillies, curry leaves and lemongrass and continue to stir fry for a minute or two.

Add cockles to the wok and mix well, in go the seasonings and stir fry on high heat for another minute. Make sure the cockles are not overcooked or they will turn out tough and rubbery.

Serve as part of a Malaysian or Chinese meal.

Crispy Monk Fish Fillets With Homestyle Tomato Sauce 家鄉蕃茄魚片

Growing up as carefree children in Cameron Highlands we were extremely spoilt when it came to food. While many of our classmates settled for shop bought food after school, we always had delicious home cooked meals ready when we returned. While the temptation to "hangout" with friends or wondering off somewhere was always there, we were like good little frock of lambs returning home on time came lunch time (or dinner time).

This is our family's way of cooking sweet and sour and one of those dishes that made us such obedient children, well ...... temporarily at least. Crispy firm fish fillets coated with a tangy tomato sauce, what's not to like about it? In fact we often  asked for a second serving of rice when this was served.

recipe from the tummies' kitchen
serve 3 to 4 as part of a Chinese meal

you'll need;

1.5 kg of monk fish or other firm white fish fillets, cut into chunks

2 eggs, lightly beaten with a pinch of salt

1 cup of rice, sweet potato or corn flour, seasoned with a little white pepper

oil for deep frying

3 spring onions, sliced at an angle

for the sauce;

oil for cooking

4 garlic cloves, chopped

3 cm piece of ginger, chopped

3 to 5 bird chillies (optional) , chopped

5 tbs of tomato ketchup

3 tbs of oyster sauce

2 tbs of light soy

2 tbs of Chinese black vinegar

2 tbs of sugar

1 tsp of white pepper

2 cups of stock
1 red onion, sliced
1 large tomato, cut into chunks

corn flour solution for thickening

dip fish pieces into the beaten eggs and coat with the seasoned rice flour.

Chop garlic, ginger and chillies; cut onion into wedges.

To prepare the sauce - saute chopped ingredients with a little oil in a saucepan for 30 seconds, be careful not to burn the ingredients. Add the seasoning next and continue to cook on medium heat for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add onion, tomato and stock and bring to a simmer.

When the vegetables are slightly soften, thicken the sauce with corn flour solution and check for seasonings.

Deep fry fish fillets in batches until golden and crispy. For best result - fry fish fillets in batches on medium heat for 2 minutes, remove and drain well. Turn up the heat and fry the fish a second time until golden. (this technique works for other meat or poultry too)

Pour the sauce over the fish and garnish with some spring onions.