Fish two ways

Summer and BBQ definitely goes hand in hand at our house, after weeks of bbq chicken, skewers and steaks, I was ready for something a bit lighter for dinner. Fish is a great option, I love fish but hubby is not a huge fan, so my mission is always to come up with creative fish dishes. Here are two go to recipes I have, both are easy (under 30 minutes from prep to the table) and tasty.


Fish#1: Kimchi Tofu Stew with Miso-glazed Salmon

This Kimchi Tofu Stew is a very loose adaption of the kimchi stew with rice cakes and shredded pork from Momofuku's cookbook.  Instead of his 14 ingredients (not including the 10+ ingredients used for the ramen broth), I used 6! I'm 100% certain that my stew is no where close to his tasty version, but it will do for a weeknight dinner! =)

2  tablespoons of vegetable oil
1 container of store bought kimchi
1 container of silken tofu
3 tablespoons mirin (Japanese sweet cooking wine)
Heaping 1 cup sliced scallions (greens and whites)
1 egg

1) Heat the oil in a soup pot over medium heat, add the kimchi and heat for 3 minutes, add 4 cups of water (or chicken broth).
2) Add the tofu, simmer for 5 minutes. Add the mirin and few grinds of black pepper. Taste the soup, and add salf if needed or more mirin if the soup is too sour from the kimchi.
3) Sprinkle with scallions, cook for another 5 minutes and remove from heat. Add the raw egg on top, the heat of the stew will cook the egg.

This stew is hardy and very satisfying, you can add other ingredients along the cooking process, such  as diced chicken or shrimp. To make this a complete meal, I served this with the ridiculous easy oven baked miso-glazed salmon.

Ridiculous easy oven baked Miso-glazed Salmon
1 thick piece of Salmon
1 teaspoon of sesame seeds
Marinade
1 tablespoon of white miso paste
1 tablespoon of mirin
2 teaspoon soy sauce
1/4 cup of water
1 tablespoon of chopped garlic

1 teaspoon of vegetable oil

Mix all the marinade ingredients together in a small bowl. Rub all sides of the salmon fillet with the marinade, place the salmon fillet on a lined oven pan, pour any leftover on top of the fillet. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.  Baked in oven (I used a small toaster oven) at 375F for 20 - 25 min (depends on the thickness of the salmon). You know the fish is done when it starts become flaky (test with a fork).

Fish #2: Shrimp stuffed Sole
Serves 4

Served with Roasted Garlic and tomato Linguine Alfredo  (Sauce is store bought by Classico, one of my fav)

This is another easy recipe and I love that it is a 30 minute meal, making this a great option for weeknight dinner. I picked up a few sole fillets this time, but I have tried this with Tilapia, Cod and even those mystery frozen white fish fillet at the chinese grocery store (I think they are Basa fillet). The stuffing options are endless, I usually use shrimps as the base ingredient and add some type of vegetables to the filling. I used broccoli this time, since that is what I had in the fridge, but spinach or red peppers would be just as good. If you don't like shrimps, you can try crab meat or even lobster meat. I think this is a great way to serve fish, it is quick but also elegant enough for a causal dinner party. Tyler loves it too, he said "yummyumyum"!

                                                      
6 Sole Fillets
1/2 cup of finely chopped broccoli
2 tablespoon of mayonnaise
1/2 cup of chopped raw shrimps
Salt & Pepper to taste

Breadcrumbs

2 tablespoons of olive oil
3/4 cup of breadcrumbs ( I used panko, but any breadcrumbs will do)
1 clove of finely chopped garlic
Zest from 1 lemon

1. Mix chopped broccoli, shrimps, mayonnaise, salt & pepper in a small bowl.

2. Scoop a heaping tablespoon of  the mixture in the middle of each cod fillet, fold the fillet over and lay on oven pan with seam side down.

3. Cover the pan with another piece of foil, baked at 375F for 20 - 25 minutes. The fish is done when it turns opaque and the broccoli is fully soften.
4. While the fish is baking in the oven, heat up the olive oil in a pan, add garlic and cook till fragrant. Add the breadcrumbs and cook until it is slightly brown (watch the pan, it burns very quickly). Remove from heat and add the lemon zest, set aside.

5. Plate each pieces of fish with a tablespoon of breadcrumbs sprinkle on top (or as much as you like, the breadcrumbs is the best part, it also tastes great on top of the pasta). Serve with lemon wedges.

Hope you like these two fish recipes and will try it at home as well! I would love to hear any feedback!!