EnnaEel Cooks

September 21st, 2008

They’re the ones you would think I would say if there was a me for you.

Posted by LA in Recipes, Seafood


Rockfish tacos! I’m about to leave town for a week, and needed to ransack my apartment for perishable groceries. Here is the extremely tasty result.

Sauce
3 T. Kewpie Mayonnaise
1/2 t. ancho chili pepper
1 t. white miso paste
1/2 t. chili paste

Fish tacos
8 oz rockfish fillet
4 T. extra virgin olive oil
3 T. light soy sauce
2 T. white wine vinegar
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1 t. kosher salt
1 t. fresh cracked black pepper
leek, sliced thin
baby arugula
lime
pocket pita bread, cut in half

  • Mix Kewpie, chili pepper and paste in a small bowl. Refrigerate.
  • Mix olive oil, soy sauce, vinegar and garlic in shallow bowl. Turn fish in oil mixture to coat. Sprinkle fish with salt and pepper.
  • Broil until flaky, and just opaque in center.
  • Spread sauce inside pitas. Stuff with fish.
  • Toss arugula with lime juice, stuff in pita with sliced leek.

    Okay, so I have to say I didn’t have high expectations for this one.
    Black beans with Oaxaca cheese would’ve been a great side dish. Grilling the fish instead of broiling would’ve been cool too. The pita I had wasn’t very fresh. I was all down on the results before I was even halfway finished preparing the dish.
    Anyone that knows me and my cooking knows I don’t tend to run around exclaiming its awesomeness. But, g.d., these pseudo fish tacos were ridiculously good. Pretty high up there on my list of cooking experiments I hope to recreate soon. Except for the part where I stabbed my gums with a fish bone. Not looking to recreate that. I need to work on my fish-cleaning skills.

    So, I guess, Happy Hispanic Heritage month?
    I am celebrating with perhaps the whitest recipe for tacos ever.
    How white am I? I had an all-out argument with a co-worker who refused to accept that I am in fact half Mexican. She almost had me doubting it for a moment.

    I’m going home next week. I’ll be updating with lots of photos of all the local kine foods I’ve been missing so hard the past year or so.
    Lack of time to go biking lately has left me a bit squishier than I like, and a chance to eat Leonard’s and Zippy’s for a week isn’t going to help, I think.

    • Listening to:: They Might Be Giants - Ana Ng
    • Status:: Knit one, purl two
    September 2nd, 2008

    And they will tell you the things that you are not.

    Posted by LA in Chicken, Recipes, Relationships


    Chicken curry with potatoes and sticky rice. I promised curry, didn’t I? Perhaps not the most adventurous curry that was ever made, but I think it was pretty good for a first try.

    3 T. curry powder
    1/2 t. salt, or to taste
    1 lb. cubed skinless chicken
    2 T. vegetable oil
    1 T. chopped shallot
    2 t. minced garlic
    2 t. dried chili flakes, or to taste
    3 T. fish sauce
    1 t. sugar
    2 lemongrass stalks, cut into 3-inch pieces and bruised with the flat side of a knife
    1 (1-inch) piece ginger, peeled, cut into 3 slices and bruised with the flat side of a knife
    1 1/2 c. fresh chicken stock
    1 1/2 c. unsweetened coconut milk
    1 yellow onion, cut into wedges
    1 medium golden potato, peeled and cubed
    1/2 cup Asian basil leaves, cut in half
    2 scallions, chopped

  • Combine 2 T. of the curry powder and the salt in a bowl. Add the chicken and turn to coat the meat evenly. Set aside for 30 minutes.
  • Heat the oil in a medium pot over moderate heat. Add the shallot, garlic, chili and the remaining 1 T. curry powder, and stir until fragrant, about 10 seconds. Add the chicken and cook until the edges of the pieces are golden, 3 to 4 minutes.
  • Add the fish sauce, sugar, lemongrass, ginger and chicken stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat. Add the coconut milk, onion and potato and cook until the vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes.
  • Transfer to a serving bowl, garnish with Asian basil or scallions, and serve.

    • I think perhaps next time I’ll be a little less adventurous with the chili, and maybe let the curry cook down a little thicker. Otherwise, I look forward to having the leftovers in my bento tomorrow.

    Today, I found out that the first boy I told that I loved has gotten engaged. My chest feels simultaneously excited and flattened. (But mostly excited.)
    They live on two separate continents. And over the course of their relationship have spent 7 days together.
    My first thought is ‘How ridiculous is that? Of course that will never work.’ And immediately afterwards I am both shocked and saddened by how pessimistic I’ve grown lately. I’ve been so wrapped up in the opinions of others that I’ve forgotten most of my favorite parts of myself. Notably the doe-eyed idealism.
    So, rather than letting myself feel as though I’m eating the dust of nearly all of my peers, I think I’ll day-dream for a while about the kind of affection that could drive someone to propose to someone oceans away.

    And a ladybug just crawled across my ceiling.

    • Listening to:: Jon Brion - Get What It's About
    • Status:: - 25 grown-up pessimism