New Year Noodles with Fish Curry SauceFrom COASTAL COOKING WITH JOHN SHIELDS
Chef Su-Mei Yu, the first lady of Thai cooking, holds court in her popular restaurant, Saffron–a terrific casual Thai noodle restaurant and rotisserie chicken takeout shop in San Diego. She was raised in Bangkok and often returns to her homeland to teach cooking classes to ensure that as Asia becomes more developed, the cuisine she loves so well continues to be passed down to the next generation, as has been the case for countless preceding generations. "The lesson I learned is that food is what connects you to who you are, and who your ancestors were." She adds that "Thai food is not just good food, it is homeopathic, and keeps one in harmony."
As you will be able to taste in this delightful fish curry, Su-Mei loves seafood. One of her friends does tuna farming in Ensenada and she invites him and other like-minded cooking buddies to "tuna parties," where everyone pitches in and cooks up a feast of fresh tuna and other straight-from-the-ocean delicacies. Su-Mei's first cookbook, Cracking the Coconut: Classic Thai Home Cooking, won an IACP award for the best book by a first-time author.
Serves 6
1 pound dried vermicelli
1 cup yogurt
1/4 cup chopped onions
1 garlic clove, minced
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon curry powder
4 whitefish or flounder fillets
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/8 teaspoon cumin seed
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Put all the ingredients except the fish fillets, oil, and cumin seed into the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade and blend until thoroughly mixed. Cut the fish fillets into halves and arrange in a shallow baking dish.
Combine the oil and cumin seed in a skillet and heat until cumin is dark brown. Add the blended ingredients, stirring constantly. Pour the mixture over the fish and bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until the fish is cooked through but still moist and flaky.
Prepare the noodles according to package directions. Drain. To serve, divide noodles evenly among plates and top with curry.
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Wildwood Planked Salmon
From COASTAL COOKING WITH JOHN SHIELDS
Roasting wild salmon is a tradition dating back many hundreds of years in the Pacific Northwest. During a visit to Seattle, my friend Mary McGowan and I took a boat ride to Blake Island in Elliot Bay to experience an authentic re-creation of a Native American salmon roast.
It is an arduous process in which round pits are dug for fires and stoked with hardwood. Sides of salmon are affixed to split wood planks and placed near the open fire to roast slowly. It is great fun to watch and a memorable experience to sit at long family-style tables enjoying platters of freshly roasted salmon.
No one is going to want to replicate this at home, and there is no need to with this planked salmon recipe by one of the Pacific Northwest's best known and highly acclaimed chefs, Cory Schreiber of Portland, Oregon. At his hip, regional restaurant, Wildwood, where the finest of Pacific Northwest fare is celebrated, Cory uses a technique that is much more manageable for the home cook, but still imparts the wonderful wood scent to the baked salmon fillets. Cory, author of Wildwood: Cooking from the Source in the Pacific Northwest, suggests serving the salmon with Saffron-Braised Leeks (page 208).
Serves 4
4 cedar planks, soaked overnight in water (see note)
Four 6-ounce salmon fillets, preferably wild, boned, skins on
Vegetable oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
8 sprigs fresh rosemary, thyme, or tarragon
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Drain the cedar planks. Lightly coat the salmon with vegetable oil and season with salt and pepper to taste. Place the salmon on the planks, tucking 2 herb sprigs underneath each fillet. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the salmon is firm to the touch and cooked through. The boards may start to darken as they lose water. For an attractive presentation, serve the salmon on the boards.
NOTE: You can find cedar grilling planks at gourmet specialty stores. You can also find cedar scraps at lumberyards and home-improvement centers, but you must be certain to use only new natural cedar, and not other wood scraps, possibly treated with preservative chemicals.
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Wellfleet Cranberry Scones
From COASTAL COOKING WITH JOHN SHIELDS
No self-respecting New Englander would take tea without scones, and the residents of the charming village of Wellfleet, Massachusetts, on Cape Cod, are no exception. This version uses Massachusetts’s signature berry, the cranberry. You haven't really lived until you’ve seen a Cape cranberry harvest, when they flood the bogs and beat the bushes so the berries rise to the surface of the water in swirls of every shade of red from pink to burgundy, but mostly in such a clear, pure crimson it takes your breath away.
Makes 10 to 12
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons baking powder
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) cold butter, cut into small pieces
2 eggs
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup milk
3/4 cup dried cranberries
Preheat the over to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
Mix the flour, 1 tablespoon of sugar, the salt, and baking powder together in a large mixing bowl. Using a fork or pastry cutter, cut in the cold butter until thoroughly blended.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, cream, and milk. Working quickly, combine the flour mixture with the egg mixture just until incorporated. Do not overmix. Fold the dried cranberries into the batter.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead it for 1 minute. It should be a little sticky, but if it is too wet, add just a tiny bit of flour.
Press the dough into a circle about 3/4 inch thick. Sprinkle with the remaining tablespoon of sugar. Cut into 10 to 12 wedges and place them on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes, or until the scones are golden brown.
**************Copyright© 2004 by John Shields