Mengada-ngada time...

Usually when i'm not feeling well or just on "mintak-puji" mode i will crave for food that i know i will not get like my mom's curry fish for example....So what to do..i was thinking..... i have some nice fish in the fridge and i have just bought some curry powder so i did it my way and make my own curry fish...this just shows i miss home and i miss my mom's cooking...huhuhu :((

so here is my own way of making....

"Chindika Fish Curry"

lots and lots of veggies just how i like it :)

Simmering .....

And....finally, Chindika Fish Curry!

mon coeur: A little bit spicy but still ok :)


Well at least i get to satisfy my curry cravings hehehe...thats all that really matters. Thanks mom for the tips on making the fish curry :) and can anyone guess what does "chindika" means? heheheheh......



Chindika me:)
Clarity!

Japanese-style Curry

Curry is one of the most popular dishes in Japan. Japanese-style curry is usually thicker than curry found in other cuisines. I got interested to cook Japanese-style Curry when i read about Chicky egg's post on Japanese curry roux that i decided to make my own mixture of this so called "Curry Roux". I've got all the important ingredients to make curry roux but i dont know if its my 1/4 of indian blood or what..but i kept veering myself to make it taste like an indian curry...erghhhhhh! So...what i do is i combined a little bit of both so what i got is actually called "Japchidian" Curry :) hahaha....what a mixture :P

So the ingredients got close to the Japanese_styled Curry with all the ingredients particularly the vegetables. Typical Japanese curry includes vegetables, such as onion, carrots, and potatoes, and meat. But i didnt use meat for this one as i used Fish fillet instead. You guys must be wondering ....my cooking thesedays seemed to include a lot of vegetables and FISH or Chicken. Well thats because im preparing myself to be a Vegetarian. Well, a semi vegetarian at least for now for i still and wil only take Fish and white meat like chicken meat and veetables only now. So hopefully i will live healthily with eating good and nutritious food only :) Its one of my wish to better myself this year and thats healthier living :)

Ok here is the recipe i got from heltier living on how to make the basic curry roux from scratch.

INGREDIENTS:
1 tbsp curry powder
2 onion
2 tbsps flour
3 cups water
2 cubes soup bouillon
1 tsp grated fresh ginger
1 tsp grated garlic
1/2 tsp garam masala
2 tbsps butter

PREPARATION:
Heat water in a pan and add soup bouillon to make soup. Slice onion thinly. Heat butter in a pan and saute onion slices slowly until they are brown for 15-20 minutes. Add garlic and ginger in the pan and saute well.

Add flour and curry powder and saute over low heat. Pour soup in the pan little by little, stirring quickly. Simmer the curry roux until thickened, and add garam masala at last.

Ok done with that and now to prepare our vegetables and fish fillet :)

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 Tbsp. plus 1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 large potatoes, peeled and cut intobite-size pieces (1 cup)

2 small green capsicum, cored and cut into bite-size pieces (1 cup)

2 small tomatoes cut into bite-size pieces (1 cup)

1 medium carrot, peeled and cut into bite-size pieces (1 cup)

2 pieces of fish fillet cut into bite-size pieces (1 cup)
Salt and pepper to season
1 clove garlic, minced
1 small onion, sliced (1 cup)
4 cups water
Japanese curry roux mixture ( 1 cup)

PREPARATION:
Heat 1 1/2 Tbsp. of olive oil in medium skillet over medium heat. Saute potatoes, carrots and bell pepper for a few minutes, or until tender. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and set aside. Heat 1 Tbsp. of olive oil in large and deep pot over medium heat.

Saute garlic and onion until onion is tender, about a few minutes. Add fish fillet and stir-fry with onion for a minute. Add water, stir well, and simmer on low heat for about 15 minutes, or until carrot is tender. Add the Japanese curry roux mxture in the soup and stir lightly and add tomatoes let sit for 5 minutes. Serve curry with steamed rice.

All done and here are the finished product :)

The Pot

yummy :)

Vegetarian wannabe

Clarity!

Trade your Soul for Sole?

I was told that the most simple tasting French food is always the most difficult to prepare..well, before i made this attempt to cook the ever so popular dish in restaurants in France, i thought i'd do a research over its background of how it became a reknown dish and why is it expensive, even sometimes higher than filet mignon and always wads of euros more than salmon happens to be just a mere whole fish cooked in brown butter with a squeeze of lemon and some chopped parsley thrown in!

So I found out that....

1. why is it expensive...Just trying to skin sole fish will tell you why it's so darned expensive!

2. The ART of cooking the sole fish it self

3. And the story behind the dish itself, on how it took the soul of one of France's most revered cooks, Chef Vatel

let's chat a little about the no3 discovery why the sole fish is an expensive dish :)

"Taken from a literature article on the net regarding this particular story"

Before the Roi de Soleil's extravagant palace of Versailles was constructed in 1682, the King traveled around the country with his aristocracy. Wherever he went they were required to go too. In this way he kept an eye on his scheming court and also kept them in dept paying for their travel expenses and hosting lavish parties in his honor.

In 1671, the king traveled to Chantilly to meet with his commander, Prince Condé before waging war on Holland. A great feast was planned hosted by the Prince for the King and his court with the aid of his "Master of Cooks", François Vatel.

The first night of feasting, a light supper was provided of turtle soup, creamed chicken fried trout (whatever that is), and roast pheasant. Seventy-five extra guests attended the party. Vatel was horrified that some of the tables at his super did not receive enough pheasant roast. Although his staff assured him that he wasn't to blame for the shortage of food and unknown quantity of royal guests, he was humiliated by this blunder.

At four o'clock in the morning after what he considered to be a failed first diner, Vatel was still hard at work desperately trying to secure enough food for the next day's gala event, an even more extravagant and opulent menu of anchovies sevigne, melon with Parma ham, lobster quenelles with shrimp sauce, and filet of sole.

He met with a fish monger in the early hours of morning who arrived with an inadequate amount of fish. He asked the purveyor, "Is this all"? and the man replied back to him, "Yes sir" not knowing that Vatel had also ordered more from several seaport towns in France. Vatel waited hoping that more would arrive. Nothing came.

Exhausted from twelve sleepless nights of preparing for Prince Condé's feasts and unable to see a way out of total disgrace, he went to his room and fixed his sword to his door. He ran into it several times. The first two times only wounding himself, the third thrust he pierced his heart. Some say he ran upon it another five times.

Fifteen minutes after his suicide fish poured in to the royal household and assistants came running to find Vatel so that he could distribute it. Too late, Vatel lay dead in a pool of blood.The dinner went on as planned minus the filet of sole course, and all agreed – the Roi de Soleil included – that his death, although tragic, only proved Vatel's code of honor. Vatel traded his soul for sole.

All the drama and all you need not trade your soul for the damn recipe hehehhe here is my version of the famous soul trader = Sole Meunière

Ingredients

2 (8 ounces) sole fillets
Salt and black pepper
8 Tablespoons butter
1 cup flour
4 tablespoons finely chopped Italian parsley
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 clove garlic
Lemon slices, for garnish

Instructions

1. Season fillets with salt and pepper.
2. Heat butter in a large sauté pans on medium high until butter is nut brown. Make sure your pans distribute heat evenly (very important).
3. Dredge fillets in flour, shaking off any excess flour. Do this step right before placing fillets in pans. This ensures a crisp crust.
4. Place fillets in hot saute pans and cook for 2 to 3 minutes per side, until golden brown and crispy.

5. Remove fillets from pans and transfer onto a platter.
6. Dump out butter from the saute pan. Don't rinse it! Add remaining butter and heat on medium high until golden brown. Take off the heat and add lemon juice and a big three finger pinch of chopped parsley.
7. Place fish on plates and spoon over nut butter lemon sauce.
8. Garnish with lemon slices

so here it is....

my version of the ever so expensive...

Sole Meunière

Soul for Sole?

hmnnn.....i dont think so :P

And this dish is best serve with a salsa salad which i've prepared in just a few mins...like my aunt Alys likes to say.."easy-peasy" ;)

my salsa toss out salad

the combo that ignites fire that brings your soul to search for sole :) fish that is...hahaha

and oh yes.....this is the famous "Master of Cooks", François Vatel

Bon appétit!

Clarity!