Category Archives: Fish and Seafood

Crispy Nori Summer rolls with Lime Soy Peanut sauce

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Crispy Nori Summer rolls with an amazing lime soy peanut dipping sauce. We love Summer rolls, but this time I added a little extra Nori (seaweed sheet) and shallow fried them until crispy! And I can tell you that Summer rolls just got even better. They’re so easy to make too.
All you do is prep your veggies and shrimp, soak your rice sheets, place a nice piece of nori in the middle of the rice paper and layer your filling on top, roll ’em up and set aside. Then fry them for a few minutes and voilá.
So even when you are craving sushi, this is the way to go. If you find rolling sushi hard then adding a rice paper sheet is an easy trick to keep it all together. The frying is optional, but so delicious and crispy.

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS:

  • 16 rice paper sheets
  • 2 Nori sheets, each cut into 4 pieces
  • 32 small cooked shrimp
  • 50g. / 1.5 oz dried thin (rice) noodles
  • 2 cup finely shredded cabbage
  • 1 cup carrot sticks, or (bag) of shredded
  • 1/2 cucumber cut into stick, seeds removed
  • Fresh basil and chopped cilantro
  • 2 tbsp. neutral oil for frying

DIPPING SAUCE;

  • 3 tbsp. peanut butter,
  • 2 tbsp. soy Sauce
  • 1 tbsp. Sesame seed oil
  • 2 tsp. fish sauce (nam pla)
  • Fresh ground pepper
  • 1 1/2 tbsp  lime juice
  • 1/3 cup water or more
  • 1 tsp. garlic powder*
  • 1/2 tsp crispy chili (in oil) or sambal oelek

INSTRUCTIONS:

Cook or soak your noodles according to package directions and set aside.
Cut your veggies unless you are using store bought pre-shredded which is a great idea if you are in a hurry.
Make the dipping sauce by mixing all the ingredients and set aside.
Place a large pan over medium heat and add the cabbage with half a cup of water,  place a lid on the pan and bring to a boil.  Cook for one minute, drain a place cabbage on a plate. Do the same with the carrots.
The quickly fry the shrimp for a minute or two until just cooked.
The basil leaves and koriander are also in the line up.
Get a deep plate and fill with water, have a working board ready to place the soaked rice sheets on.


Now soak a rice sheet for 10 seconds in water, place on board. Place nori sheet in the middle and slightly at the bottom of the circle. Layer your ingredients in your favorite order, finish with koriander and basil leafs.
To roll, flip one side towards the middle, then the other, start rolling from the part nearest to you, all the way up until you have a tight roll.
Lightly grease a plate a place roll on it. Continue with the remaining rolls.
To fry, add one tablespoon of vegetable oil to a large frying pan**, and fry rolls on all sides for about 7 minutes or until light golden and crispy. Repeat with the remaining rolls.

**you can also use two frying pans to cook all the rolls in one go.

Enjoy!

Crispy polenta crusted fish tacos

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Our new favorite week-night dinner.  Crispy polenta crusted fish tacos!
These are going to become one of your favorite tacos too. Easy to make but still feel like  a special dinner.
Firm fish morcels are seasoned and coated in fine (instant) polenta. Then pan fried. Stuffed into corn taco shells and topped with a yummy  sauce. I topped them with some hot pineapple too.

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 cup instant polenta
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup all purpose flour lour
  • 1 tbsp. Cajun seasoning
  • 4 firm fish fillets (tilapia), cut into pieces
  • 1/2 cup fresh or frozen pineapple chunks
  • 1/4 cup oil for frying
  • Taco shells, 2 or 3 per person
  • Shredded lettuce
  • 2 avocados slices
  • Grated cheese optional
  • Sauce:
  • 1/2 cup mayonnaise
  • 1/4 cup plain greek yoghurt
  • 2 tbsp. Ketchup
  • 1 tbsp. sweet chili sauce
  • A few drops tabasco
  • 1 tsp. garlic powder
  • 1 tsp. onion powder

INSTRUCTIONS:


For the sauce, mix all the ingredients and set aside. 
For the fish, prepare a bowl with polenta, and an other bowl in which you beat the two eggs.
On a work board, season the fish and coat with flower by sprinkling the flour over the fish.
Dip each piece of fish, first in the beaten eggs and the roll thru the polenta, gently pressing to cover completely. 
When all the pieces are done, heat a frying pan with the oil anf fry the fish for about 4 to 5 minutes, turning once gently. Remove one piece to test if its done.
In the meantime place your pineapple in an oven proof dish and heat in the oven alongside the tacos shells, as per the instructions on the box.
To serve, place some shredded lettuce in each taco, pile on fish nuggets and warm pineapple and dollop some sauce on top. Serve with avocado wedges.
Enjoy.

P.s. Any leftover sauce is great on sandwiches the next day, it will keep for 3 days in the refrigerator. 

Roasted red bell pepper jam

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Get ready for the new sauce of Summer ’22.
The perfect sauce for Mexican Corn Jalapeño Burger, Jamaican Jerk Chicken Kebabs, Beef burger filled with Onions and Crispy Bacon, Madras Salmon Burger, etc etc… basically all kinds of hamburgers, grilled meats, salmon, fish and sandwiches.
The jam is sweet, a little tangy because there is a little vinegar in there, and a hint of spice in the form of chili flakes. You can adjust that to your liking of course, but for us, 1/2 teaspoon is enough. This sauce will keep for about two weeks in the refrigerator,  you can also process the jars (canning) for a longer shelve life, but do consult a canning website or source for that procedure.
This roasted red bell pepper sauce takes five minutes to make and is so easy. I used a jar of roasted peppers like I did in my 5 minute Romesco Sauce, cheats version because, why not? Sometimes it’s okay to take a shortcut.

Makes 1 jar

INGREDIENTS:


1 jar of fire roasted red peppers, drained
80 grams of special jam sugar/gelling sugar
1/4 cup plain vinegar
1/2 teaspoon chili flakes
1/4 teaspoon table salt

INSTRUCTIONS:


Place all the ingredients in a blender.
Puree until smooth and transfer to a large pot.
Cook for 5 to 7 minutes until bubbly and slightly thickened.
Pour into sterile jar, let cool a bit with the lid off, for an hour or so.
Then close with a lid and keep in the refrigerator. Like I said earlier,  it’s good on everything.


Enjoy!

5 minute Romesco Sauce, cheats version

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Romesco Sauce is a Spanish pepper and tomato based sauce from the region of Cataluña, that dates back to the 15 th century, thanks to Christopher Columbus who brought back the Romesco peppers from his travels in the America’s which are the base for this sauce.
You can find Romesco sauce everywhere in Spain, it’s very popular and can be eaten with everything from just bread to grilled fish, grilled meat or vegetables.

The original version is with dried peppers, almonds, some times hazelnuts as well, bread, garlic etc…
I have come up with a cheats version that can be done in 5 minutes and it is addictively delicious.

INGREDIENTS:

6 tbsp. Olive oil
1 small onion, peeled and chopped fine
2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
1 jar roasted red bell peppers (15 oz. jar / 500 ml), drained
1/4 cup almond butter (the roasted kind)
1/3 cup sun dried tomatoes in olive oil
1/3 cup parsley, roughly a handful
1-2 tsp. red wine vinegar
3/4 tsp. salt
fresh black pepper
1 tsp. smoked paprika (preferably the Spanish kind)

INSTRUCTIONS:

Place the sun dried tomatoes in a bowl and cover with very hot water. Let sit for five minutes then drain.
On medium heat, fry onion and garlic in two tablespoons of oil, until light golden and just soft. Let cool a bit.

In a food processor, add the pepper, the onions and garlic, almond butter, drained sun dried tomatoes, parsley, vinegar, salt, pepper, paprika and the remaining 4 tablespoons of olive oil.
Turn on the food processor and blend until smooth. That’s it!

I use only one teaspoon of vinegar but you can add more depending on how acidic you like it.

The sauce will keep in the refrigerator for about five days in a glass container or jar, but I can assure you, you will be putting it on everything.

Enjoy!