Spicy Asian rice noodles with shrimp

In an attempt to modify a recipe for Pad Thai, we ended up with this delicious dish. It’s definitely no Pad Thai, but it’s still a keeper.

Spicy and satisfying! You can use other seafood or substitute chicken.

• 3/4 Tbs. tamarind paste dissolved in 1/4 cup warm water
• 2 Tbs. fish sauce, + more to taste
• 1-3 tsp. chili sauce, or substitute 1/2 tsp. or more dried crushed chili or cayenne, to taste
• 1-2 Tbs. local honey
• 8 oz. Thai rice noodles (or enough for 2 people), linguini-width, available at Asian/Chinese stores
• 1 lb. shrimp, peeled and de-veined
• 3 Tbs. tamari sauce (gluten-free soy sauce)
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• optional: 1-2 fresh red chilies, minced
• 3 spring (green) onions, sliced
• 1/3 cup crushed or roughly chopped cashews, toasted
• Salt and pepper

Combine the tamarind paste, fish sauce, chili sauce and honey in a small bowl. Pour the tamari sauce over the shrimp to marinate.

Boil a pot of water and add the rice noodles. Cook until still just slightly crunchy (they’ll continue to soften during the stir fry). Drain and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking.

Heat some coconut oil in a large pan or wok on medium-high heat. Add the garlic and chopped peppers, cook 30 seconds. Toss in the noodles, shrimp and tamarind sauce. Carefully turn over and over in the pan to fully combine all the ingredients. Cook until the shrimp are fully cooked. Serve with chopped roasted cashews and chopped green onion.

Modified from About.com

Spicy seafood curry soup

My parents bought us a new set of All Clad cookware (THANK YOU!!!) and we used this pot first. This seafood curry smells as good as it tastes, with just a little spicy heat.

• 

  Spicy seafood soup with the flavors of curry.

  2 bags Trader Joe’s frozen seafood mix (calamari, scallops and shrimp)

• 4 quarts spicy stewed tomatoes
• 2 cups water
• 1 small head cauliflower, chopped
• 1 bunch green onions, chopped
• 8 oz. chopped baby bella mushrooms
• 4 serrano peppers, chopped
• 1 habanero pepper, chopped
• 4 hot red cherry peppers, chopped
• 1 Tbs. mashed garlic
• 1 oz. Maharajah curry (a blend of cumin, coriander, fenugreek, tumeric, yellow and brown mustard, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, fennel, white pepper, cloves, cardamom, chili powder, and saffron. We got ours from the Spice Merchants.)
• 2 Tbs. Garam masala seasoning

Put everything except the curry and garam masala in a pot on low heat. Do not let it boil or the seafood will get overcooked. Simmer for an hour or until the cauliflower is slightly tender. Remove from heat and add the seasonings.

Fish stew

Here’s a simple recipe for a zingy soup with lots of flavor.

Tomatoes and fish are the main players in this stew but the supporting characters bring a lot to the table, too.

• 1/4 c extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium carrot, chopped into half-inch pieces
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 fennel bulb, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 3/4 cup white wine, such as pinot grigio or sauvignon blanc
• 28-ounce can crushed or pureed organic tomatoes
• 1 c water
• 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
• 1.5 pounds whitefish — halibut, cod, pollock, monkfish or whatever — cut into one-inch chunks
• Fresh parsley or shredded Parmesan cheese (optional)

Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven or stock pot and add carrot, onion, garlic, fennel. Season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring frequently, until veggies soften, about 5-8 minutes. Turn the heat to high. Add the wine and scrape up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Cook about 5 minutes, until most of the liquid has evaporated. Add tomatoes, water, and red pepper flakes. Reduce heat and bring to simmer. Cover and cook  18-20 minutes until veggies are tender. Season the fish with salt and add to the stew. Cook, stirring occasionally, until cooked through, about 5-8 minutes.

Ladle into bowls and top with chopped parsley and/or shredded Parmesan cheese.

Recipe from friend Dawn Needham.

Fish muffins

It sounds strange, but a muffin isn’t really all that different from a cake, right? It’s just a small cake. Enjoy these with your own homemade tartar sauce.

Fish muffins are light, fluffy, and not overly fishy.

• 1 lb. sole, cubed
• 4 eggs
• 1/3 cup coconut flour
• 1 bunch green onion, sliced thin
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 Tbs. crushed red pepper
• 1 Tbs. Frank’s red hot sauce
• 1 Tbs. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. ground black pepper
• 1 tsp. dill
• 1 tsp. cayenne pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease the cups of a muffin pan.

Combine everything in a large bowl. Scoop into the greased muffin wells until each is almost full. Bake for 35 minutes or until browned around the edges of the tops.

Let cool for three minutes before removing and serving.

Tartar sauce

A primalized version of a fish’s best friend.

• 1/2 cup middle eastern yogurt
• 2 Tbs. chopped dill pickles
• 1 Tbs. lemon juice
• 1 large clove garlic, minced
• Salt and pepper to taste

Combine all the ingredients and serve with your favorite fish recipe.

Dilled salmon en papillote

Here’s a twist on salmon that isn’t too complicated.

Dilled salmon with a hint of butter, mustard and lemon.

• 3 Tbs. olive oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 10 oz. fresh spinach (if using frozen, thaw and thoroughly drain it)
• 1 Tbs. plus 2 tsp. lemon juice
• 2 Tbs. chopped fresh dill
• 4 teaspoons dijon mustard
• 4 salmon filets
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper
• 4 tsp. drained capers
• 4 tsp. butter

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Smear four sheets of aluminum foil (each about 20 inches long) with one to two Tbs. of the olive oil.

Put the rest of the oil in a large skillet with the onions and garlic. Cook for one minute. Add the spinach and cook for another few minutes, until it’s wilted. Add 1 Tbs. of the lemon juice and cook for another 30 seconds while stirring. Remove from heat and stir in 1 Tbs. of chopped dill. Cool for 10 minutes.

In a small bowl, combine the mustard, the other 1 Tbs. of chopped dill and the 2 tsp. of lemon juice.

Place 1/4 of the spinach mixture on each piece of oiled foil. Top with a filet of salmon. Sprinkle the salmon with salt and pepper. Spread the mustard mixture on top of the salmon. Top each filet with 1 tsp. of capers and 1 tsp. of butter. Fold the foil lengthwise over the filets, then fold it down. Crimp the edges into a pouch and place on a baking sheet.

Bake for 12-15 minutes.

Adapted from The Sugar Solution

Fried salmon patties

Canned salmon is great in egg scrambles and salads, but here’s a way to get a hot meal out of the convenient food.

Salmon cakes are a great way to enjoy canned salmon warm.

• 1 8-oz. can salmon
• 1 egg
• 1 Tbs. chopped chives
• 1 Tbs. Trader Joe’s hot sauce
• 1-2 clove garlic, minced
• 3 Tbs. unsweetened coconut
• coconut oil for frying

Heat a frying pan with enough coconut oil for a shallow fry. Mix all the other ingredients together. Use about 1/4 cup of the mixture at a time to form patties. Once the oil is hot enough, drop the patties into the pan and fry for a couple minutes on each side, until they’re browned up and cooked through.

Dipping sauce

• 1/2 cup homemade mayonnaise
• 1 chopped pickle
• a shake each of onion powder, garlic powder, paprika

Mix it all together, serve with warm salmon patties.

Sweet salmon

Salmon with a slightly sweet, slightly spicy flavoring.

A little sweet, a little spicy.

• Salmon filets
• Caribbean blackening spice blend (or other spice blend that has some heat)
• Olive oil
• Raw honey

Rub the salmon filets with olive oil, coat them with the spice mix. Place the filets in an oiled glass pan and put under a high broiler for a couple minutes. Flip them once, watch so they don’t overcook.

Just before serving, put a light drizzle of honey over the filets. It will melt all over the fish and give a slight sweetness to every bite.

Quick fish dinner

I always have fish in the freezer, and when I don’t feel like red meat this is an easy, delicious preparation.

A quick and easy fish fry. A few leftover scallops made it into this pan, too.

• 2 filets cod or other white fish
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut
• 1 tsp. cayenne pepper
• Salt and pepper
• Coconut oil
• 1/4 cup plain, whole-milk yogurt
• 1 clove garlic, diced
• juice of 1/2 lime
• 1 head broccoli
• 2-3 cloves garlic, sliced
• Olive oil

Cut broccoli into floretts and place into a large, oven-save dish with the sliced garlic and some olive oil (enough to toss with the broccoli). Cover with foil and put in a 350-degree oven.

While the broccoli is cooking, heat the coconut oil in a large pan. Pat dry the fish filets. Beat the egg in a shallow dish; put the coconut, cayenne, salt and pepper in another. Dredge the filets in the egg, then the coconut, then place into the hot coconut oil.

After a couple minutes, flip the fish gently. Let it cook another couple minutes.

Mix the yogurt, chopped garlic and lime juice.

Serve the cooked fish with the yogurt sauce and steamed broccoli.

Shrimp soup

This soup was originally intended to be a bisque, but without a roux or heavy cream, it’s a lot brothier. It’s tasty, but not my favorite soup for the amount of work done to prepare the shrimp.

The shrimp flavor is a centerpiece but doesn't overwhelm this soup.

• 2 lbs shrimp, shells on
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 1 fennel bulb, lightly chopped
• 1/4 cup tomato paste
• 1 can coconut milk
• 5-6 saffron threads
• 1 tbs. mustard powder
• Old Bay seasoning, to taste
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Peel and de-vein the shrimp, putting the shells into a large stock pot with a lid. Pour in the broth and add the fennel pieces. Simmer for at least half an hour. Pour the liquid through a sieve; discard the solids, return the liquid to the pot.

Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for another half hour to an hour. Adjust the seasonings to your liking.

Adapted from NPR food blog