Chilean Sea Bass with Shiitake Mushroom Broth

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This dish is the kind that, with a little experience, many good home cooks could assemble from scratch, without consulting a recipe. The aromatic triumvirate of garlic, ginger and scallions is matched with soy sauce, rice vinegar and fish sauce. Shiitake mushrooms give substance and flavor, cornstarch thickens and sesame oil adds a taste of toasty richness.

You can spoon the sauce over the poached fish, but it will also work just as well with grilled, pan-seared or broiled fish, or on stir-fried strips of chicken breast, slivers of pork or beef, shrimp or scallops. Steamed rice could help soak up the sauce as well.

 

 

Serves 4

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups chicken stock
  • 1 ⅓ pounds sea bass or gray sole fillets
  • 2 tablespoons peanut oil
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tablespoon minced ginger
  • ½ cup chopped scallions
  • 7 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and sliced
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon Vietnamese fish sauce
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 2 teaspoons sesame oil
  • 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro, or snipped chives (Optional)

 

 

 

Directions:

Heat oven to 175 o F. Place chicken stock in a wok or skillet, and bring to a simmer. Cut fish into pieces about 3 inches square, place in stock, and simmer until just cooked, about 5 minutes. Use spatula to transfer to heatproof platter, cover loosely with foil, and place in oven. Drain and strain stock, and reserve. Wipe out pan with a clean paper towel.

 

Heat peanut oil in pan. Add garlic, ginger and scallions. Sauté briefly, and add mushrooms. Sauté until wilted. Add soy sauce, vinegar and fish sauce. Cook 30 seconds, then add reserved stock. Bring to a simmer. Dissolve cornstarch in 2 tablespoons cold water, and add, stirring. Simmer until sauce has thickened. Add sesame oil.

 

To serve, transfer fish to a shallow bowl and spoon mushroom sauce over the fish. Gransih with a scattering of with cilantro or chives. Serve hot.

 

 

 

 

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Blue Cheese-Buttered Sirloin with Haricots Verts and Roasted Fingerling Potatoes

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Who wouldn’t want a juicy steak topped with butter… a blue cheese compound butter no less! Compound butters are flavorful dish enhancers made from mixing different ingredients into a butter base. Blue cheese lends its deliciously distinctive aroma and flavor to this compound butter, and green onion punches it up another notch. Tip: Line ’em up! The best way to remove the ends of green beans is to line them up evenly, then remove them with one cut.

Adapted From
Chef Justin Paruszkiewicz
Home Chef
March 2021

Serves 2

Ingredients
5 teaspoons olive oil, divided
Salt, to taste
Ground black pepper, to taste
1 pound fingerling potatoes
2- 3 tablespoons Blue Cheese Crumbles
1-2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
2 scallions, thinly sliced
2 garlic  cloves, minced
Two Sirloin Steaks, 6 ounces each
1/2 pound green beans, ends trimmed
1/4 cup water

Directions:
Preheat the over to 400°F.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.

Halve potatoes lengthwise. Place potatoes on prepared baking sheet and toss with olive oil, about 1/2 teaspoon salt, and a pinch of pepper. Massage oil and seasoning into potatoes. Spread into a single layer and roast in hot oven until golden brown and fork-tender, 18-20 minutes. While potatoes roast, make blue cheese butter.

In a mixing bowl, combine softened butter, blue cheese (to taste), half the garlic (use less if desired; reserve remaining for green beans), half the scallions (reserve remaining for garnish), and a pinch of pepper. Form mixture into two equally-sized mounds and place on a plate. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Pat steaks dry, and season both sides with a pinch of salt and pepper. Place a medium non-stick skillet over medium heat and add 1 teaspoons olive oil. Add steaks to hot pan and cook until steaks are browned and reach a minimum internal temperature of 145 °F, 5-7 minutes per side. Remove steaks to a plate and tent with foil. Rest at least 5 minutes. Wipe pan clean and reserve.

Return skillet used to cook steaks to medium-high heat and add 2 teaspoons olive oil. Add remaining garlic to hot skillet and cook until fragrant, 30-45 seconds. Add green beans and water. Cover, and stir occasionally until beans are bright green and water has mostly evaporated, 6-8 minutes. If green beans need more time, add 2 tablespoons water and stir occasionally, 1-3 minutes. Remove from burner and season with salt and pepper to taste

To serve, place the steak on the plate, topping steaks with blue cheese butter. Garnish dish with remaining green onions. Add green beans and fingerling potatoes on the side.

Bon appétit!

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All photographs and content, excepted where noted, are copyright protected. Please do not use these photos without prior written permission. If you wish to republish this photograph and all other contents, then we kindly ask that you link back to this site. We are eternally grateful and we appreciate your support of this blog.

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Taiwanese Pork Chops and Broccoli

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When you don’t have a lot of time to spare in the kitchen, this dish can come together in minutes. It is perfect to add to your weekly meal rotation. What I like about this recipe is that there aren’t a ton of ingredients, I liked how the cornstarch created a delicious glaze on the chops, and the sauce was simple and super tasty. If you wanted to riff on the recipe, I think you could do definitely do this with chicken thighs or even steak as a change up.

Serves 2 to 4

Ingredients:
4 cloves garlic
7 scallions
1 pound pork loin, boneless center-cut chops
7 tablespoons soy sauce, divided
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 teaspoon white pepper
3 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons extra-light olive oil
3 large broccoli crowns
2-3 tablespoons sweet Thai chili sauce

Directions:
Mince the garlic and scallions; set them aside on a plate.

Cut the pork to about 1/4-inch thickness. Pound thin with a mallet on both sides. To a medium bowl add 4 tablespoons of the soy sauce, sesame oil, cornstarch, and pepper. Stir to combine. Add the pork to the marinade and stir to thoroughly coat the meat. Cover and allow the pork to sit for 5 to 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the olive oil in a large skillet over high heat. When the oil is shimmering, add each pork piece in a single layer, keeping them separated. Allow the pork to cook for 2 minutes, until lightly browned, then flip over. Add garlic and scallions, and the remaining 3 tablespoons of soy sauce. Cook for another 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cover with a lid for an additional minute, then turn the heat off.

Meanwhile, chop the broccoli into large spears. Remove the pork from the skillet, keeping all the leftover juices in the pan. Turn the stove back on high and stir fry the broccoli in the pork drippings, stirring constantly for about 2 minutes. Cover for 1 minute.

Transfer the broccoli to a serving platter.

Add 2-3 tablespoons of sweet chili sauce to the skillet.  Add the pork chops and coat with sauce, allowing the sauce to caramelize the meat, for 1-2 minutes. Remove from the heat.

To serve, plate the broccoli and add the cooked pork on top, and enjoy with rice or a steamed scallion bun.

 

Hello Friends!

All photographs and content, excepted where noted, are copyright protected. Please do not use these photos without prior written permission. If you wish to republish this photograph and all other contents, then we kindly ask that you link back to this site. We are eternally grateful and we appreciate your support of this blog.

Thank you so much!