Category Archives: Fish

My First Try On Nasi Lemak

Nasi Lemak is a Malay dish. When I first came to Singapore, I tried it. But didn’t have any deep impressions on it. The specialty of it lies in rice, which is cooked with coconut milk. But when I had it before, rice was cold, so I couldn’t taste the fragrance of coconut milk.

The other day, I tried cooking rice with coconut milk, the rice turned out very nice. So I bought pandan leaves, lemon grass, sambal chili sauce and decided to cook my first nasi lemak.

Rice part:

1 cup rice ( I used the ones with some brown rice mixed in)

70 ml coconut milk

1 1/2 cup water

1 stalk pandan leave (make into a knot)

1 stalk lemon grass (pat lightly with knife)

1/2 tsp salt

Put all the ingredients above into rice cooker and press the cooking bottom. Trust me your kitchen will smell so so good.

For side dish, I chose to fry yellow strip fish (kuning) and chicken wings. Also served with peanuts, anchovies, egg and cucumber.

Place Yellow strip fish in a bowl, sprinkle salt and white pepper.

Put chicken wings in a big bowl, add in 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp whit pepper, 1/2 tsp chili powder, 1/2 tsp ground ginger, 1 tablespoon corn starch, 1 tablespoon rice flour and 50 ml coconut milk. Mix well and marinate for a little while.

1. Heat a lot oil in the frying pan or pot. Add in dried anchovies, fry till golden brown. Dish them out. Fry peanuts till aromatic and brownish.

2. Fry yellow strip fish with low heat. Dry the fish before frying. Be careful of the hot oil. Frying fish till bone is also crispy. (My husband loves crispy fried yellow strip fish).

3. Last fry chicken wings. Also use low heat. Fry chicken till golden brown.

Spread a banana leaf over the plate. Place rice in the middle.

Around rice, place fried fish,

https://flic.kr/p/2cPzf4d

fried chicken wings,

peanuts, anchovies,

boiled (or fried ) egg, cucumber slices and don’t forget the sambal chili sauce.

https://flic.kr/p/2bMY2ou

Serve hot. That’s also very important.

Here is the first nasi lemak I cooked. My husband was astonished when I brought the plate in front of him. He loves it very very much. He said it’s the best nasi lemak he ever had. 🙂

https://flic.kr/p/2bMY2pS

I also love it. Now I finally realize why nasi lemak is a popular dish here in Singapore. Rice is very rich, full of coconut fragrance. I just can’t stop having it. I also very like sambal chili sauce. It’s very different from Chinese mala chili sauce. It tastes a bit sweet and its spicy is perfect. I also ate all the sambal chili sauce on the plate. 🙂

Oven Roasted Fish

1. Cut fish 2 or 3 times on both sides.

2. Put fish into a big bowl, add in 2 tablespoon cooking wine and several ginger slices. Marinate for half an hour.

3. Wipe fish dry with kitchen towel.

4. Sprinkle salt and white pepper over fish.

5. Heat 2-3 tablespoon oil in the pan. Add in 3 tablespoon chopped garlic, 1/2 tablespoon chopped ginger, and 1 tablespoon chopped dried chili. Fry with low heat till aromatic.

6. Add in 1 tablespoon Pixian soy bean sauce. Stir fry till aromatic.

7. Add in 1/2 tablespoon sugar. Stir evenly.

8. Place vegetables you like in the baking pan. I chose enoki mushroom, celery and onion.

9. Place fish over vegetables. Pour the sauce over fish and vegetables.

Into the preheated oven (180 degree C) and bake for 15 mins. Flip the fish over and bake for another 15 mins.

Steamed Greasy Grouper

1. Sprinkle salt evenly over and inside the grouper.

2. Place several ginger slices in a plate. Then put the grouper over them.

3. Put several tofu pieces in the plate too. It’s optional, if you don’t like tofu, just skip this step.

4. In a small bowl, add in 1 tablespoon cooking wine and 2 tsp oyster sauce. Mix well then pour the sauce over fish.

5. Put plate with fish on steaming rack. In hot water and steam for 12 mins. My grouper is a small one. More time will be needed if the fish is bigger.

6. Take the plate out after steaming. Sprinkle ginger and spring onion shreds over fish.

7. Heat a pan. Add in 1 tablespoon oil and 1 tablespoon sesame oil. When the oil is very very hot, pour it over the ginger, spring onion and the fish. Enjoy the sizzling.

Curry Fish Balls

1. Heat 2 tsp oil in the pan. Sauté chopped garlic, chili and 1/2 onion till aromatic.

2. Add in 1 tablespoon curry powder, curry leaves. Stir fry a bit.

3. Add in fish balls and pour in enough water covers all ingredients.

4. Bring to boil. Turn to low heat and simmer for 10 mins.

5. Add in 1/4 cup coconut milk or milk. Simmer for another 5 mins.

6. Season with salt and sugar.

Sweet & Sour Fish

1. Cut fish into slices or small chunks. Beat one egg in a bowl and prepare 1/2 cup corn starch in another bowl.

2. Dip fish in egg first and then in starch. Let them be coated with starch evenly.

3. Deep fry fish slices till golden brown. Set aside.

4. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in the pan. Add in chopped 1/2 onion, chopped 1 tomato, red capsicum, and yellow capsicum. Stir fry for 2 mins.

5. Add in 2 tablespoon tomato sauce, 1 tablespoon chili sauce, 2 tsp sugar and 1/2 cup water. Bring the sauce to boil.

6. Add in starch water to thicken the sauce.

7. Put in fried fish slices. Stir fry to let fish be coated with sauce.

Seared Seer Fish

This is a very simple dish.

Prepare marinade:

In a small bowl, mix 2 tsp chili powder, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp ground ginger, 2 tsp minced garlic, 1 tsp paprika powder, and a little water. To make it into paste.

Brush marinade onto two sides of seer fish steak. Let the fish be marinated for 1 hour.

Heat oil in the pan. A little more than usual. Fry the fish till both sides turn golden brown.

Steamed Pomfret Fish

1. Prepare a pomfret fish. 2 shiitake mushrooms slices, 4 cherry tomatoes, 4 plums, ginger slices and chopped spring onion.

2. Put 3-4 ginger slices into the fish belly.

3. In a plate, spread some shiitake slices and ginger slices. Place fish over them.

4. Put tomatoes and plums beside the fish.

5. Sprinkle a little salt over fish, also add 1 tablespoon light soy sauce and 1 tablespoon rice wine.

6. Top with rest Shiitake mushroom slices and ginger.

7. Steam for 10 mins.

Last, garnish with spring onion.

Super easy and quick.

Braised Fish in Brown Sauce

Fish is a must-have dish during Chinese New Year. In Chinese fish is 鱼 (yú), which sounds like another character 余. 余 means extra or surplus. So we always say 年年有余 (nián nián yǒu yú),that means May you always get more than you wish.

Braised fish in brown sauce is a regularly-seen dish on Chinese dining table. And it’s kind of my husband’s favorite way of cooked fish.

This cooking method is ideal for those fish from lake or river, not very very skinny type. And if the fish is from deep sea, this method is not recommended. Braised with sauce is a good way to add more flavor to plain fish and it will also reduce fish’s original freshness at the same time.

Ingredients:

2 rabbit fish

Oil 2 tsp

Dark soy sauce 1 tablespoon

Light soy sauce 1 tablespoon

Cooking wine 1 tablespoon

Sugar 1 1/2 tbsp

Ginger 3 slices

Garlic slices of 2 cloves

Bay leaves

Star anise

Hot water 1 cup

Shredded spring onion

1. Wipe the fish with kitchen towel to make them dry.

2. Heat 2 tsp oil in the pan. Put fish inside. Fry each side for 2-3 mins or till a bit brown.

3. Add in ginger, garlic, bay leaves, star anise. Stir till aromatic.

4. Add in dark & light soy sauce, cooking wine, sugar and water.

5. Cover pan with lid. Braise with medium heat for 10 mins. Then flip fish over and braise for another 8 mins.

6. Take the fish out into the plate. Keep heating the pan to reduce sauce to the consistency you want.

7. Pour sauce over fish and garnish with shredded spring onion.

You can also heat another 2 tablespoon oil and pour over spring onion and enjoy the sizzling.

https://flic.kr/p/24AWrhz

Lemon Butter Cod Fish

1. Season cod fish with salt and black pepper.

2. Heat a little olive oil in the pan. Fry cod fish fillet 1-2 mins each side.

3. Add in 2 tablespoon butter, lemon juice of half lemon and minced garlic. Simmer for 3 mins.

4. In a bowl, mix 2 tablespoon flour, a little black pepper, paprika powder and mixed dried herbs.

5. Sprinkle flour mixture over cod fish evenly.

6. Put into prehated oven (200 degree C). Bake for 10 mins till flour mixture turns golden brown.

Place cod fish in the plate. Pour lemon butter sauce over it. Serve with lemon slices and chopped parsley.