Soy Scallion and Ginger Dressing on Fresh Tilapia FiIlets

Filleting a fish is exceedingly difficult without a sharp knife! I plan on purchasing a sharp fillet knife for future filleting endeavors. Despite the arduous task (just kidding, it took 7 mins tops), the taste of a freshly filleted fish is beyond words. All I can say is go learn how to do it yourself and do it!
This dressing is fantastic on fish!!! The flavors are bright and exciting, perfect with the delicate texture of tilapia.

The best part is I braise the fish in the soy dressing for a bit before serving so the gingers get cooked and becomes extremely mild. Gingers was my least favorite thing to eat as a kid because of the sharp, stingy taste that overwhelms and becomes the predominate taste in my mouth, by julienning the ginger and cooking it in the pan, the sharpness mellows out more so its much more subtle in flavor.

Enough of me jibber jabbering.

Ingredients


Fresh Tilapia


Dressing:
1/4 Cup soy sauce ( I like to use Aloha Shoyu because it has a nice mild flavor that is not overly salty)
3 Tablespoons rice wine vinegar ( make sure its the unseasoned one)
2 Tablespoons Mirin
2 Tablespoon vegetable or canola oil (olive oil will impart a different flavor in the sauce so we want to avoid using that and still with more neutral oils for asian cooking)
1 Tablespoon Sugar 
1 Teaspoon sesame oil
1 Large clove garlic grated 
2 Scallions slice on diagonal thinly ( both the white and green parts)
1/4 Cup julienned ginger


Directions: 
Mix ingredients in a bowl and stir until the sugar is dissolved
Get a hot pan, wait till oil is smoking before you put the fillet SKIN side down on the hot pan, cook until its browned.
Turn head down low and take pan off the burner when you pour the dressing into the pan. Flip the fillet so the raw side is now soaking in the dressing.
Place pan back on the heat and cook until fish is done. 2-3 mins depending on thickness of the fish. 
Serve on a bed of rice and drizzle with warmed sauce. 

Mix in ingredients for dressing in a bowl and stir until the sugar dissolves

Filleting fish is hard work but well worth the time! I purchased my fish fresh from 99 Ranch Market.

Two large fishes for 13.99! What a steal!

So the first fillet I did, I got a lot of bones in it because I didn't do it right. But after the first one I started getting the gist of it!

Not too shabby but a sharper knife would've made a huge difference!

and voila!

Don't worry about the skin, it'll come off when its cooked

Get a hot pan ( leave pan on stove with olive oil until it starts to smoke a bit)

Wait for the smoke! 

Put fillets in skin side down. Don't worry about salting the fish because the fish will be braised in the soy sauce.

when edges gets 1/4 inch white, its time to flip!

Once this side is done which should take about a min, turn the heat down low and move the pan off the stove when you spoon the soy sauce into the pan. I poured half the sauce in.

bubbling away. Makes your entire house smell amazing!

Cook for another 2-3 mins and serve with some jasmine rice!

I need to work on my plating skills hahah

om nom nom nom

Enjoy and  let me know how it comes out! =) 

Carnitas

I'm guess I'm on a pork craze right now. I'm surprised at how delicate and distinct the flavor of pork can be. Also, the texture of pork cooked right is also very palatable. Thus my fascination with Carnitas should come as no surprise. Although I've spent hours scouring the net for the most authentic recipe, I decided to try out this one I found on Chowhound.com. The flavor was surprisingly good and you get the charred crisp outside. I would definitely make this again. Overall I think it took about 10 min to prep and about 1.5 hr for the meat too cook.  

Ingredients:

2lb pork butt

1-tablespoon of Oregano 

3-teaspoon of Cumin

3-4 cloves of minced garlic

half of a medium onion, small dice

handful of cilantro 

about a cup of pork lard ( the brown stuff you get from Mexican market) or olive oil

Salt

Pepper

Directions: 

Cube the pork evenly about 2 inch blocks and evenly season the meat with oregano, cumin salt and pepper.

On medium-low heat, put all the rest of the ingredients into the pot and once the lard has melted, add the pork in an even layer. Cover and cook for about 1.5 hour. 

Uncover the pot and crank the heat up to medium high until the meat is browned to your preference. This takes roughly 5-6 mins. 

Turn off heat at desired crispness, take meat out of pot and chop it into smaller chunks. 

Service with desired fixings. 

I decided to go the taco route so I had chopped white onions, cilantro, cheese, chorizo beans,and salsa. 

Onions, Garlic, Cilantro and Brown Lard

You can use whatever cooking oil you prefer instead of lard. I decided to use lard to be more authentic.

 single even layer

You wan't to make sure the meat in submerged in the oil.

Cover and cook for 1.5 hours. Take off the lid, increase heat and watch those babies brown! 

Flip meat to get even browning

You want to make sure you turn the meat during the browning process so you get an even crisp, crust.

Fried meat! 

My desired level of crispy....

I probably should have taken them out a bit earlier so they won't be too burnt but it was still delicious. 

Ready to be cut up!

Assembled =)

The chorizo beans where just canned beans my roommate heated up with some milk, garlic, and cheese. Delicious! 

Momofuku's Bo Ssam

Bossam is similar to the Chinese moo shu pork but its Korean, and instead of grounded pork with miscellaneous mushroom and veggies, its seasoned roasted pork. Its typically served with kimchi and various sauces, but I digress. 


I was craving roasted pork plain and simple. Amidst in my plight of finding a decent recipe online, my girlfriend Jackie messaged me over AIM and asked what I was doing. Clearly the universe was telling me to make pork roast because right after I told her what I was doing, she described to me the perfect pork roast she had tried at Momofuku's in NYC. Those words will not be repeated because it would be considered soft-core food porn to foodies. 
I searched for the recipe and found it! Hallelujah! 


This is by far the easiest roast to make! 

Ingredients:

1 (8- to 10-pound) bone-in pork shoulder or pork butt

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup plus 1 tablespoon coarse salt ( DON'T use ionized salt, the one with the girl and umbrella! It will be too salty!!!!!!! Go to whole foods and but a huge jar of coarse salt for 2 bucks)

7 tablespoons light-brown sugar

Directions:

1. Place pork in a large bowl or roasting pan. In a medium bowl, mix together granulated sugar and 1 cup coarse salt. Rub sugar mixture all over pork and cover bowl with plastic wrap; transfer to refrigerator for at least 6 hours and up to overnight.

2. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

3. Transfer pork to a large roasting pan, discarding any accumulated juices (or drain accumulated juices from roasting pan that pork is in). Transfer roasting pan to oven and cook, basting every hour with rendered fat in roasting pan, until meat is tender and easily shredded with a fork, about 6 hours.

4. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix together remaining tablespoon coarse salt and brown sugar; rub mixture all over pork.

5. Increase oven temperature to 500 degrees. Return pork to oven until sugar has melted into a crisp crust, 10 to 15 minutes.

I followed most of the directions but because I was using a 4lb pork butt roast, Here are my modifications. 

Mix 1/4 cup sugar and 7 tablespoons of coarse salt in bowl. Rub mixture all over pork; no crevices left behind!  TASTE MIXTURE and adjust according to salt content because I prefer it sweeter. =) I also added a pinch of nutmeg and some cayenne pepper (optional)

Cover pork with plastic wrap and let it marinade in the fridge for at least 6 hours. 

Getting ready to chill in my fridge

After I took the meat out of the fridge I took the roast out of the bowl and scrapped off all the extra mixture on the skin.  The crust was too salty otherwise (UPDATE: scrape off as much crust as possible. I find that the crust keeps the meat more moist)

Note: Line foil at the bottom of your roasting pan, you will thank me later.

Place dry roast on roasting plan and put it in the preheated 300 degrees Fahrenheit oven. Set your timer for 6 hours and forget about it.

Cookin' away! 

The recipe says to baste it every hour but I find that unnecessary because the fat in the pork butt keeps the roast pretty damn moist! However, 3 hours in, I did rotate the roast so the other meaty side of the meat could get a good crisp going on its exterior.

I ruined the crust a little because I flipped the roast :(

When I took the roast out after 6 hours, I cranked the oven up to 500 degrees. Rub the outside with brown sugar and wait for it to crisp up. I didn't want to leave the roast in for the 10-15 mins because it would get too charred. 

My What A Nice Crust You Have ;p

Not how its not overly burnt! It shreds like a dream!

Om Nom Nom

This Pork was so succulent and delicious! I hope you guys enjoy it!

I went on to make pizzas, omelets and sliders with this pork! 

Happy Eating!